News tagged with antibiotics
Breast milk protein complex helps reverse antibiotic resistance
A protein complex found in human breast milk can help reverse the antibiotic resistance of bacterial species that cause dangerous pneumonia and staph infections, according to new University at Buffalo research.
Medical research
May 01, 2013 |
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Pediatricians endorse new acne treatment guidelines
(HealthDay)—Pimples have long been the bane of teenage existence, but pediatricians say there is now enough evidence on effective treatments to put out the first guidelines on battling acne in children.
Pediatrics
May 06, 2013 |
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Researchers make significant step forward in combating antibiotic resistance
The research led by Durham University, which involved colleagues at the University of Birmingham, is a significant development in combating antibiotic resistance; it will pave the way for the creation of the inhibitors to ...
Medical research
Apr 24, 2013 |
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Probiotics found to reduce hepatic encephalopathy
Probiotics could emerge as a treatment plan to manage hepatic encephalopathy (HE) therapy after a new study announced at the International Liver Congress 2013 found they significantly reduced development of the notoriously ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Apr 25, 2013 |
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Antibiotic
In common usage, an antibiotic (from the Ancient Greek: ἀντί – anti, "against", and βίος – bios, "life") is a substance or compound that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth. Antibiotics belong to the broader group of antimicrobial compounds, used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungi and protozoa.
The term "antibiotic" was coined by Selman Waksman in 1942 to describe any substance produced by a microorganism that is antagonistic to the growth of other microorganisms in high dilution. This original definition excluded naturally occurring substances that kill bacteria but are not produced by microorganisms (such as gastric juice and hydrogen peroxide) and also excluded synthetic antibacterial compounds such as the sulfonamides. Many antibiotics are relatively small molecules with a molecular weight less than 2000 Da.[citations needed]
With advances in medicinal chemistry, most antibiotics are now semisynthetic—modified chemically from original compounds found in nature, as is the case with beta-lactams (which include the penicillins, produced by fungi in the genus Penicillium, the cephalosporins, and the carbapenems). Some antibiotics are still produced and isolated from living organisms, such as the aminoglycosides, and others have been created through purely synthetic means: the sulfonamides, the quinolones, and the oxazolidinones. In addition to this origin-based classification into natural, semisynthetic, and synthetic, antibiotics may be divided into two broad groups according to their effect on microorganisms: those that kill bacteria are bactericidal agents, while those that only impair bacterial growth are known as bacteriostatic agents.
For more information about Antibiotic, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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