PHARMACISTS it may be time to get your PADI licence and strap an oxygen tank to your back, because molecules found in the seabed appear to offer a solution to antimicrobial resistance, a US researcher believes.
University of Illinois, Professor Brian Murphy, revealed that a mud sample he collected during a scuba diving trip in 2016 in Lake Michigan, contained bacteria that created two previously unknown molecules.
Subsequent lab tests revealed the pair formed a compound that could kill the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, Science Focus reported.
The discovery has prompted Murphy to pilot a "citizen science project", encouraging recreational divers to collect samples of sponges laden with bacteria in the hope of identifying more potential super-bug killing compounds, and ease our reliance on existing antibiotics.
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