June 19, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked trusted source proofread by Cynthia McCormick Hibbert, Northeastern University Northeastern researcher Kim Lewis is spearheading an effort to accelerate discovery of new antibiotics as part of a multi-institutional project to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. "It's a big issue because we largely stopped introducing novel antibiotics about 50 years ago," says Lewis, distinguished professor of biology and director of Northeastern's Antimicrobial Discovery Center.
"Bacteria continue to acquire and spread resistance, which has led to the antimicrobial resistance crisis the World Health Organization calls a slow-moving pandemic" that contributes to nearly 5 million deaths a year, Lewis says. The goal of the accelerated technology is to use a high throughput approach and microfluidics to hasten the discovery of novel antibiotics. Scientists from 25 research groups in nine states and the United Kingdom will develop novel tools, including single-cell assays and machine learning , to diagnose and treat bacterial infections proving resistant to current therapies.
"Existing antibiotics come from less than 1% of species out there," Lewis says. That means the vast majority of bacterial species have not been tested for their antimicrobial abilities. He and his team de.