New weapon against bacteria.

• Position: Antimicrobial Peptides

Over the past few decades, many bacteria have become resistant to existing antibiotics, and few new drugs have emerged. A study from a United Kingdom commission on antimicrobial resistance--published in Scientific Reports--estimates that, by 2050, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections will kill 10,000,000 people per year if no new drugs are developed.

To help rebuild the arsenal against infectious diseases, many scientists are turning toward naturally occurring proteins known as antimicrobial peptides, which not only can kill bacteria, but other microbes, such as viruses and fungi. A team of international researchers has engineered an antimicrobial peptide that can destroy many types of bacteria, including some that are resistant to most antibiotics.

"One of our main goals is to provide solutions to try to combat antibiotic resistance," says American postdoctoral student Cesar de la Fuente. 'This peptide is exciting in the sense that it provides a new alternative for treating these infections, which are predicted to kill more people annually than any other cause of death in our society, including cancer."

Antimicrobial peptides, produced by all living organisms as part of their immune defenses, kill microbes in...