Imaging Technique Examining the Living Habits of Bacteria Could Beat Antibiotic Resistance
Biofilm Under Construction Bacteria first glue themselves together on whatever surface they can find purchase, then encase themselves in a protein shell, creating a firmly entrenched biofilm that can be thousands of times more resistant to antibiotics as the individual bacteria comprising it. via U.C. Berkeley Media RelationsThe biofilms where bacteria congregate are like little apartment buildings In an effort to outfox antibiotic resistance, a team of researchers based out of U.C. Berkeley--and including none other than Nobel laureate Steven Chu--want to build a wrecking ball that tears down bacterial cities. It's not quite there yet, but in a paper released today the research group announced that via a new imaging technique it has for the first time revealed the structure of these biofilms -- and where they are vulnerable to attack. Biofilms organize themselves into complex structures when they colonize, and bacteria generally spend most of their lives as part of...