Scientists Find New Type of Antibiotics Hiding in the Human Nose
Of all the 20th century’s innovations, the discovery of antibiotics was hands-down one of the most important. Since Alexander Fleming first discovered penicillin in 1928, countless lives have been saved from previously untreatable diseases and epidemics stopped in their tracks. Since the 1980s, however, researchers have struggled to find new treatments as an increasing number of diseases developed a resistance to antibiotics. Now, for the first time in 30 years,scientists have discovered a new class of antibiotic, and it was hiding right under their noses.
Scientists searching for new antibiotics have traditionally looked to bacteria that live in soil for the chemical compounds they use to fight off their rivals. But the human body has long been seen as a potential resource for antibiotic compounds, Alessandra Potenza reports for The Verge. It's packed with all manner of microbes—from skin to guts. And while scientists have learned much about the body in recent decades, there is still a lot unknown about the human microbiome.
antibiotic
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Origin
Mid 19th century (in the sense 'doubting the possibility of life in a particular environment'): from anti- + Greek biōtikos 'fit for life' (from bios 'life').
More
- amphibian from mid 17th century:Amphibians live both in water and on land, and it is the idea of ‘living in both’ that gives us the word, which comes from Greek amphi ‘both’ (also found in amphitheatre (Late Middle English) from amphi‘on both sides’ and theatron ‘place for beholding’) and bios ‘life’, source of words such as biology (early 19th century) and antibiotic (mid 19th century). Before it was applied specifically to frogs, toads, and newts, amphibian simply meant ‘having two modes of existence, of doubtful nature’.
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