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September 29, 2026 \u2014 5:40pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Examine, a free newsletter covering science, is sent every Tuesday. You\u2019re reading an excerpt \u2013 sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the brutal arms race between drugs and bugs, serendipity has often been on humanity\u2019s side.<\/p>\n In 1928, Alexander Fleming left a petri dish unsealed and later found it overgrown with a green fuzz that had partly killed his culture of Staphylococcus aureus. He\u2019d discovered penicillin.<\/p>\n That was the opening salvo in what would become an evolutionary battle between medical researchers and their pathogenic microbial enemies that have rapidly evolved to outfox antibiotics and kill more than 1.2 million people each year through drug-resistant infections.<\/p>\n But recently, an unexpected discovery by scientists at Monash University has unveiled both a new weapon against bacteria and an unexpected defence.<\/p>\n \u201cBacteria are evolving in ways that we\u2019re not anticipating \u2013 it\u2019s creating another level of superbug,\u201d says Professor Dena Lyras, director of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, who focuses on a hospital-haunting bug that can unleash deadly diarrhoea.<\/p>\n Nearly a century after Fleming\u2019s accidental discovery, bacterial researchers found themselves once again flummoxed in the lab.<\/p>\n Lyras and her colleagues were trying to grow Clostridioides difficile, a bacterium that commonly infects the gut after antibiotic treatment in humans.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery hospital has a problem with C. difficile. And it\u2019s sort of a bit hidden. But we have elderly patients who become very sick and die of it,\u201d Lyras says.<\/p>\n The researchers\u2019 lab-raised bacterium grew fine, but it couldn\u2019t make spores, which in this species is key to reproduction and infection. The researchers were stumped.<\/p>\n \u201cGosh, they\u2019re tough, I tell you \u2026 You irradiate them for 200 hours and they still aren\u2019t 100 per cent dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Dena Lyras on \u201cultimate superbug\u201d spores<\/p>\n They investigated the batch and discovered the liquid medium they were growing the bacteria in contained a type of substance called a cephamycin.<\/p>\n They had inadvertently discovered<\/a> a spore-busting antibiotic \u2013 that cephamycins could help treat C. difficile and other spore-forming nasties such as anthrax.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of spores are made in the patient as they\u2019re infected. We discovered a group of antibiotics that actually stopped sporulation in its tracks,\u201d Lyras says. \u201cIt was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t long, of course, before the bacteria fired back.<\/p>\n \u201cIn about 10 per cent of the strains that we examined, this sporulation-blocking strategy didn\u2019t work. We wondered why it wasn\u2019t working \u2013 and that\u2019s where we discovered this subset of strains that have this new resistance gene.\u201d<\/p>\n Like an \u2018armoured truck\u2019: The new discovery<\/p>\n Some bacteria have a \u201cnormal\u201d form \u2013 where they grow, eat, reproduce and, in C. difficile\u2019s case, gleefully infect people\u2019s colons \u2013 and a \u201cspore\u201d form. These spores are extremely hard to kill.<\/p>\n \u201cSpores are the survival version of the cell,\u201d Lyras says. \u201cThey\u2019ve got their DNA packed in the middle, and then they\u2019ve got layers of stuff around them like an armoured truck, tightly packed without that much water. So it\u2019s just really tough.\u201d<\/p>\n What Lyras and her colleagues have now reported in Nature Communications<\/a> is an antibiotic resistance gene arising in the spore form of bacteria \u2013 not the normal form \u2013 for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hadn\u2019t anticipated that; it\u2019s not been described before, and it\u2019s making that cell type tougher, stronger, more likely to survive in the environment. That\u2019s going to have repercussions in a hospital where you can\u2019t kill these spores off,\u201d Lyras says.<\/p>\n \u201cGosh, they\u2019re tough, I tell you. You\u2019ve got to have like half an hour of contact with bleach to kill them. You irradiate them for 200 hours and they still aren\u2019t 100 per cent dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article In the resistant bacteria, a new gene codes for a protein that can continue making spores, even when hit by antibiotics.<\/p>\n The spores can survive hospital-grade disinfectants and hot laundry temperatures.<\/p>\n Because they\u2019re already Terminator-tough, spores taking on a drug-resistant gene create the \u201cultimate superbug\u201d, like a seed that can lie dormant in soil for years before sprouting, Lyras says.<\/p>\n The spores can persist for as long as two years in hospitals.<\/p>\n Off the back of the findings, Lyras asks: \u201cDo we need to rethink our strategies that we\u2019re using to clean the hospitals, to clean the beds, to clean the surfaces, to clean the sheets, to clean the toilets and the sinks?\u201d<\/p>\n CSIRO\u2019s predicted global impact of antimicrobial resistance by 2050Deaths from infections that were previously treatable with antibiotics will exceed 10 million\u00a0Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will result in up to 7.5% global decrease in livestock productionA decline in global GDP of between 3.8-5%An increase in 28.3 million people in extreme povertyGlobal real exports shrinking by 1.1%Global healthcare costs increase from $300 billion to >$1 trillion per year.Dragon blood and doom<\/p>\n The new discovery underscores the urgency of finding new ways to kill infectious bacteria.<\/p>\n Some scientists are looking at the antimicrobial elixir that is honey<\/a> and bug-killing compounds<\/a> found in Komodo dragon blood, while others have used AI to uncover more than 12,000 antibiotic compounds<\/a> in ancient microbes called Archaea.<\/p>\n Copper is also of interest because the metal ions punch holes in microbial membranes. One recently published 10-year study<\/a> estimated the installation of copper-infused resin on counter tops, sinks, tray tables and bedside rails in a Texan hospital had prevented 78 C. difficile infections.<\/p>\n Another promising approach is engineering viruses called bacteriophages to attack and kill superbugs.<\/p>\n The problem is that much of the blue-sky research that uncovers new antibiotic molecules is underfunded. Converting one of these compounds into a useful drug is then enormously expensive and time-intensive.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also little incentive for big pharmaceutical companies to bring new antibiotics to market.<\/p>\n Antibiotics might be used just once and even then, the mantra is to not overuse them lest you contribute to the antibiotic resistance problem. New drugs are also often quickly out-evolved.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why antibiotics are the \u201copposite of a profitable blockbuster drug\u201d, according to Professor Mark Blaskovich<\/a> at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland.<\/p>\n Experts have urged the government to set up a \u201cNetflix\u201d style agreement that would see regulator payments pour into pharmaceutical companies, like a subscription, in return for access to a stream of new antibiotics.<\/p>\n But, for now, this is a field intensely vulnerable to the science funding crisis. Last week, Liam Mannix reported 75 jobs would be slashed as the Hudson Institute of Medical Research<\/a> closes due to the \u201cslow strangulation\u201d of the research sector by flat state and federal funding.<\/p>\n Related Article In four years, goes one estimate, 10 out of Victoria\u2019s 14 independent research institutes will have to close. Much of the pioneering work to tackle the thorny issue of antimicrobial resistance occurs at these kinds of agile, independent research centres.<\/p>\n Cutting back on science now could deliver bacteria the ultimate advantage.<\/p>\n The Examine newsletter explains and analyses science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week.<\/a><\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Clostridioides](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5996f9ec5817d34241efdfcfb4b552f8140a314b6e8d9649fec174787878cc46.jpeg\")
Clostridioides difficile commonly causes severe gut infections in hospitals. Scientists have uncovered a new way it\u2019s evolving to outfox drugs.Nathan Perri<\/p>\n![\"Clostridioides](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/c54cf51f7d75403e89583efdac79dcfc85bd9a011a9bd227690b82d4d55666f5.jpeg\")
Clostridioides difficile under the microscope. WikimediaHidden yet horrid<\/p>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cc6500131ec2341cdab1c46464891d73d05559e3.jpeg\")
In it for the long game: Professor Lyras in her lab in 2009.Luis Enrique Ascui<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/952c745d905f20e6168e087f4880006098a86f97.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Some](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/098e1909e4bdaaac05fbea51ff63d9e05f4c971e.jpeg\")
Some scientists, including microbiologist Dr Kenya Fernandes, have turned to natural solutions like honey to address the critical global health crisis of antimicrobial resistance.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0100cf473310500077adb640df84be1b6e1bba4a.jpeg\")
A range of new antibiotic approaches are under investigation, yet reliant on dwindling funding.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/d534fe0e01ef90a939142348cc4bf1288358c399.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Angus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790748026_354_d5a071fc159539ad13208393627832b1baa469f341946cfd0567ba332a83005c.png\")
Angus Dalton<\/a> is the science reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 29, 2026 \u2014 5:40pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-616076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}