Future of Engineering
Friday, March 21, 2008
Destroyiong Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria - MIT Graduate Invents Knock-out Punch
MIT graduate student and synthetic biologist Timothy Lu is passionate about tackling problems that pose threats to human health. His current mission: to destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The 27-year-old M.D. candidate and Ph.D. in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology received the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventing processes that promise to combat bacterial infections by enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics at killing bacteria and helping to eradicate biofilm – bacterial layers that resist antimicrobial treatment and breed on surfaces, such as those of medical, industrial and food processing equipment.
Lu explained that fewer pharmaceutical companies are inventing new antibiotics due to long development times, high failure rates and large costs. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are also becoming more prevalent. His inventions enable the rapid design and production of inexpensive antibacterial agents that can break through the defenses of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and bacterial biofilms.
Full report here
Related blogposts
MIT Student Invents Knock-out Punch for Antibiotic Resistance
The 27-year-old M.D. candidate and Ph.D. in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology received the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventing processes that promise to combat bacterial infections by enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics at killing bacteria and helping to eradicate biofilm – bacterial layers that resist antimicrobial treatment and breed on surfaces, such as those of medical, industrial and food processing equipment.
Lu explained that fewer pharmaceutical companies are inventing new antibiotics due to long development times, high failure rates and large costs. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are also becoming more prevalent. His inventions enable the rapid design and production of inexpensive antibacterial agents that can break through the defenses of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and bacterial biofilms.
Full report here
Related blogposts
MIT Student Invents Knock-out Punch for Antibiotic Resistance
Labels: Bio-engineering
PermaLink - Destroyiong Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria - MIT Graduate Invents Knock-out Punch posted by Ecacofonix : 12:05 PM
