Research provides new leads in the case against drug-resistant biofilms
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - 13:32
in Biology & Nature
When a foreign object such as a catheter enters the body, bacteria may not only invade it but also organize into a slick coating a biofilm that is highly resistant to antibiotics. Like sophisticated organized crime rings, biofilms cannot be defeated by a basic approach of conventional means. Instead doctors and drug developers need sophisticated new intelligence that reveals the key players in the network and how they operate. New research led by biologists at Brown University provides exactly that dossier on some key proteins in the iconic bacterium E. coli.