The molecules in cockroaches’ brains and nervous systems may provide clues to how to survive in extremely adverse microbial conditions.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham School of Biology led by graduate student Simon Lee have isolated nine molecules that seem promising in fighting bugs like E. coli and the “superbug” MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), so-called because it is largely resistant to the best antibiotics.

“Insects often live in unsanitary and unhygienic environments where they encounter many different types of bacteria”, said Lee in a press statement.

In the USA, almost 100,000 people are infected by MRSA each year and in 2005, almost 19,000 people died of complications related to MRSA, according to the US Centres for Disease Control. No new antibiotic has been put on the market since 2005.

Links to other sites: CDC, FoxNews, Nottingham Post, Spreadit

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.