What's Eating You?

Necrotising fasciitis is a life-threatening condition in which bacteria eat away at human flesh. These pieces of artificial skin were grown in a lab then infected with bacteria from four different patients. Just two days later they are overgrown with biofilms – slimy organic mixtures that are hard to tackle with medicine. These biofilms combine necrotising fasciitis-causing bacteria (highlighted in white) with a sludge of fats, DNA and even natural polymers (red, blue and green, respectively). Investigating how these elements come together could be vital to tackling necrotising fasciitis before biofilms have a chance to form. Although the disease is rare, it can develop quickly through soft tissues and usually affects young, otherwise healthy people.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Nikolai Siemens and colleagues
• Center for Infectious Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Image copyright held by the American Society for Clinical Investigation
• Published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, July 2016