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Magic Milk
09 May 2013

Magic Milk

In some versions of the Superman story, Kryptonite strips the great hero of his powers, leaving him as vulnerable to attack as any mere mortal. Do ‘superbugs’ – bacteria that have evolved resistance to antibiotics – have a similar Achilles’ heel? Researchers have discovered that a protein in human milk called HAMLET has the power to reduce this resistance. By disrupting the cell membranes – the sacs that hold a cell’s contents inside – HAMLET can weaken bacteria. Its effects are so pronounced that even resistant strains of the pneumonia-inducing Streptococcus pneumoniae and the notorious MRSA can be made once again susceptible to antibiotic attack. Pictured are two S. pneumoniae cells; one (top left) healthy, and one (bottom right) wrecked thanks in part to HAMLET. Antibiotic resistance is one of the great villains of modern medicine. HAMLET could allow doctors to prescribe smaller concentrations of antibiotics, and maybe even vanquish the superbugs for good.

Written by Anthony Lewis

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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