New antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered in technician’s garden

Researchers have discovered a new antibiotic molecule that targets a wide range of disease-causing bacteria, including those resistant to commercial drugs, and is not toxic to human cells. The molecule was found in soil samples from a garden technician’s garden, demonstrating the potential of antibiotics. The molecule targets the ribosome, the protein-making factory of bacteria, which is an attractive target for antibiotics as bacteria don’t easily develop resistance to drugs targeting this structure. The antibiotic-resistance crisis is an existential threat to medicine, with bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs associated with 1.1 million deaths globally in 2021 and potentially increasing to 1.9 million by 2050.