How superbugs spread their genes?
Once the genes for antibiotic resistance evolve, they can spread to non-resistant bacteria, making those bacteria into superbugs as well. The genes for antibiotic resistance are placed on their own little DNA vehicle, called a plasmid. Plasmids are easily transferrable and can carry genes for resistance to multiple strains of antibiotics. Novel approaches to tackle superbugs Researchers around the world are developing novel solutions to combat superbugs, let’s take a look at some of them: • Nanotechnology comes handy to counter super bugs – A recent study published in Nature Nanotechnology Journal reveals that scientists from the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) are developing a novel nano-mechanical approach to understand mechanism of how vancomycin work, one of the few antibiotics that can be used to combat superbugs. They developed silicon-based technology using cantilever sensors. These sensors are “like tiny silicon diving boards having capability to measure dimensions less
