newsobserver.com | Researchers fight resistant bugs
So far, UNC laboratory research on E. coli bacteria brought a hoped-for result — the off-the-shelf bone loss drugs clodronate and etidronate blocked a key mechanism used to squirt genetic changes from one bad bug into another, including the gene that helps ward off an antibiotic attack.
Most antibiotics attack infectious bugs by breaking down the cell wall that holds bacteria together or knocking out the “protein factory” necessary for growth and survival. But if Lujan’s discovery works on other stubborn bacteria, the long-term result could be a new family of antibiotics based on a type of drug already approved for use in humans.