GENERAL PRACTISE - 1
Read the article below and answer the following questions:
1. What does the article say about the discovery of genuinely novel antibiotics and what do experts say
about resistance to drugs?
2. What is the new compound called? What does it seem to be effective at?
3. Where do details appear?
4. What could unique chemical structure of the compound lead to?
5. How does the UK Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davis describe antibiotic-resistant bacteria?
6. Which American Institution has expressed concern that the rate of antibiotic development to counter
resistance is insufficient?
7. Where was the compound extracted from?
8. Who is the leader of the researchers team and what did he comment?
9. What has initial testing of the antibiotic compound demonstrated?
10. Is there any potential resource of new materials and compounds in the oceans?
BBC News
31 July 2013 Last updated at 17:40 GMT
New antibiotic that attacks MRSA found in ocean microbe
By Simon Redfern Reporter
The discovery of genuinely novel antibiotics is rare, and experts say resistance to the drugs poses a grave
threat to human health.
US scientists say the new compound, called anthracimycin, seems to be effective at killing MRSA and
anthrax.
Details appear in the German journal Angewandte Chemie.
The unique chemical structure of the compound could lead to up a new class of antibiotic medicines.
Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently warned of the risk
posed by antibiotic-resistant "nightmare" bacteria while Sally Davies, UK Chief Medical Officer described
them as a "ticking time bomb" that threatens national security.
The Infectious Disease Society of America has expressed concern that the rate of antibiotic development to
counter resistance is insufficient. This makes this latest discovery particularly welcome news.
Lauren Paul and William Fenical were part of the team that made the discovery at Scripps
The structure of anthracimycin, described by Kyoung Hwa Jang and co-workers from Scripps in their
journal paper, is unlike any previously-reported natural antibiotic.
The compound was extracted from Steptomyces bacteria that had been collected by Christopher Kauffman in
Pacific Ocean sediments.
Leader of the team of researchers, William Fenical, commented: "The real importance of this work is that
anthracimycin has a new and unique chemical structure. The discovery of truly new chemical compounds is
quite rare. This discovery adds to many previous discoveries that show that marine bacteria are genetically
and chemically unique."
Initial testing of the antibiotic compound has demonstrated it efficacy in attacking anthrax, a bacterium that
has been used as a bioterrorism weapon. But it also showed significant activity against Staphylococcus
aureus, the MRSA superbug.
The discovery highlights the potential resource for new materials and compounds offered by the oceans,
much of which remains unexplored.
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