A new method for developing antibiotics from dirt may solve the global antibiotic problem It's no secret that antibiotics, while saving and changing many peoples lives over the past 50 years have also been overused, and now we as a society are finding more of them do not work anymore due to resistant bacteria. Too much of a good thing has led us to rethink how we use antibiotics to treat illness and fatten up cattle. Some recent research has shown that it also has the side effect of fattening us up as well and may be part of our countries obesity epidemic. When used wisely, antibiotics can be a lifesaver, but when used inappropriately, they can cause unwanted side effects we as a society are just beginning to understand. As more bacteria that cause diseases become resistant, and as fewer new antibiotics are developed, the likelihood of an epidemic that is bacterial based becomes more of a possibility. According to the NY Times, a new method of developing antibiotics is coming from the most likely place; the dirt. This recent discovery can have profound implications on the coming antibiotic crisis and our future health. Check out the article here From a Pile of Dirt, Hope for a Powerful New Antibiotic By DENISE GRADY An unusual method for producing antibiotics may help solve an urgent global problem: the rise in infections that resist treatment with commonly used drugs, and the lack of new antibiotics to replace ones that no longer work. The method, which extracts drugs from bacteria that live in dirt, has yielded a powerful new antibiotic, researchers reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday. The new drug, teixobactin, was tested in mice and easily cured severe infections, with no side effects. Better still, the researchers said, the drug works in a way that makes it very unlikely that bacteria will become resistant to it. And the method developed to produce the drug has the potential to unlock a trove of natural compounds to fight infections and cancer — molecules that were previously beyond scientists' reach because the microbes that produce them could not be grown in the laboratory. Read more