Bacterial Research:Promising new antimicrobials could fight drug-resistant MRSA infection ♦ Novel intestinal bacterium provides human gut with healthy compounds

Promising new antimicrobials could fight drug-resistant MRSA infection A novel class of antimicrobials that inhibits the function of a key disease-causing component of bacteria could be effective in fighting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), one of the major drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.

Important step toward preventing, treating some MRSA post-implant infections Staphylococcus aureus infections take hold after prosthetic surgery that are resistant to both the body's natural defenses as well as antibiotic treatments.

Intestinal bacteria are affected by antidiabetic drugs Intestinal bacteria change their composition and function when diabetic patients are treated with the drug metformin, shows new research. In the field of disease research, changes in the composition and function of the complex intestinal bacterial communities -- so-called dysbioses -- have become a focus area. It is, however, a weakness of the studies that researchers have not taken into account the potential effects of drugs on the patient's  intestinal bacteria, say investigators.

Novel intestinal bacterium provides human gut with healthy compounds Fibers in our food are thought to be good for health since they are converted in the intestinal tract into the favorable compound butyrate, that is crucial to maintain intestinal health. In contrast, protein is believed to be less healthy since intestinal fermentation of the building blocks of proteins, amino acids, generates undesired compounds. This latter picture is now changing since a novel intestinal bacterium has been isolated by researchers.