New Pharma from Deep Sea Vents
You have a fever, chills and your throat feels like you swallowed glass shards. We are blessed to live in a world where effective antibiotics are easy to get a hold of. But what will happen in the future? Antibiotic resistant bacteria are on the rise. The drugs that used to work quickly and efficiently are becoming ineffective. Over the last 25 years half of the drugs developed came from natural organisms. Now we are needing to find a new source of chemical weapons to fight new resistant bacteria. That source could be found deep under the sea by underwater vents. These chemosynthetic organisms have developed completely different ways of getting energy from their environment without the sun. This new source of natural products is being evaluated for antibacterial characteristics that could help humans. Who knows, the next time you recover from an illness, it might be thanks to your friends deep under the sea! Check out this NOAA article for more info: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/12fire/background/pharmacology/pharmacology.htmlAnd check out Seabornseries.com for a fun story about more friends in the sea!