Antibiotics hunted in deep ocean trenches
February 18, 2013 - Aberdeen University researchers are hoping to find the next generation of infection-fighting drugs in the depths of the sea.
A team, led by Mercel Jaspars, will sail to a number of deep ocean trenches around the globe and drop sampling equipment to the bottom, dredging it for potential new treatments.
The first target is the Atacama trench in the eastern Pacific, followed by trenches off New Zealand, Antarctica and Norway.
Few samples have ever been collected from these locations, but they hold a lot of potential for finding undiscovered forms of life -- each trench is cut off from the rest of the world, and whatever lies inside has evolved independently.
Jaspars warned of the dangers of the overprescription of antibiotics, which has lead to an increase in bacteria that are resistant to conventional forms of treatment.
A team, led by Mercel Jaspars, will sail to a number of deep ocean trenches around the globe and drop sampling equipment to the bottom, dredging it for potential new treatments.
The first target is the Atacama trench in the eastern Pacific, followed by trenches off New Zealand, Antarctica and Norway.
Few samples have ever been collected from these locations, but they hold a lot of potential for finding undiscovered forms of life -- each trench is cut off from the rest of the world, and whatever lies inside has evolved independently.
Jaspars warned of the dangers of the overprescription of antibiotics, which has lead to an increase in bacteria that are resistant to conventional forms of treatment.
Sources and more information:
• Sea bed to be mined for antibiotics
Europe 'losing' superbugs battle Researchers are embarking on an 8m project to discover new antibiotics at the bottom of the ocean. A team, led by scientists at Aberdeen University, is hunting for undiscovered chemicals among life which has evolved in deep sea trenches. Prof Marcel Jaspars said the team hoped to find "the next generation" of...
• Scientists looking for new drugs in NZ waters
• New species of fish discovered in ocean trench near NZ
( via wired.co.uk )
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