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Battling Bacteria
26 April 2016

Battling Bacteria

The might of the Roman Empire is embodied in their legions; they succeeded in battle by hunkering down, raising their shields and forming an impenetrable barrier. Sticking together is a proven defence at the microscopic level too. When bacteria close ranks to form a biofilm they’re harder to treat with antibiotics. One kind capable of this manoeuvre is MRSA. Searching for antibiotics to prevent MRSA biofilms, researchers turned to ceftaroline. At high enough doses it was successful against a variety of MRSA strains, causing the bacteria to become fatally deformed, as captured here using scanning electron microscopy. However at low doses it actually encouraged biofilm formation in some strains. Such low doses can occur at the start and end of a treatment regime. It’s therefore vital to keep ceftaroline levels up if it’ s to stand a chance in the battle against MRSA.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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