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Growing role of antibiotic peptides. |
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EurekAlert: Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig have found an alternative to the established antibiotics. In the future, antimicrobial peptides will take up the battle against pathogens. "We have already identified 20 of these short chains of amino acids which kill numerous microbes, including enterococci, yeasts and molds, as well as human pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, which is found in the human oral cavity and causes tooth decay. Even the multi-resistant hospital bug Staphylococcus aureus is not immune, and in our tests its growth was considerably inhibited," says Dr. Andreas Schubert, group manager at Fraunhofer IZI.
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