October 27, 2015

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Bacteria have many methods of adapting to resist antibiotics, but a new class of spiral polypeptides targets one thing no bacterium can live without: An outer membrane. The polypeptides act as bacterial hole-punchers, perforating the bacterial membrane until the cell falls apart. The antimicrobial agents are dressed for their mission in positively charged shells that let them travel in body fluids, protected from interacting with other proteins.Full Story

Source
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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