Could a New Antibiotic Kill Bacteria?

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There's also been work on a potential new antibiotic derived from a plant toxin. This is early stage research, but it does look quite promising. As well as these kinds of developments we've been talking about, there is another hope on the horizon - something called phages. These are viruses that are harmless to people normally, but they're deadly for bacteria. So there's been a growing interest in using these phages as treatments.

Climate change and pollution are the latest factors contributing to a global rise in antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to a report from the UN environment agency. Given that no new class of antibiotics has been discovered since the 1980s, what are our best hopes for tackling these bugs in the future? Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian’s science correspondent Hannah Devlin about genetically modified bacteria, the potential of plant toxins, and why scientists are hunting for viruses known as ‘bacteriophages’ in birdbaths and sewers. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod