(Credit: Ivanova Natalia/Shutterstock) The human nose is a battleground for bacteria and some of them could prove to be our allies. Researchers have discovered a new antibiotic, produced by nose-dwelling bacteria, that kills antibiotic-resistant superbugs, including MRSA. The study, published in Nature, shows that the human microbiome — the microorganisms living on and within us — could be an important source for new antibiotics, desperately needed as infectious bacteria become resistant to our current antibiotic drugs. “It was totally unexpected to find a human associated bacterium to produce real antibiotics,” says Andreas Peschel, a lead scientist of the study and microbiologist at the University of Tübingen, Germany. “It’s not just a new molecule, it’s … a new mode of action that gives hope,” he says.
Peschel and colleagues swabbed 37 noses and found that some contained the bacterium Staphylococcus lugdunensis, which stops the growth of a slew of infectious bacteria, ...
