Programmable sensitivity

Since the GAIN Act was passed in 2012 to stimulate new antibiotic development, there has been more interest in the field but no game changers have emerged, and antibiotic resistance is still a major problem. Two independent teams believe they could have a far-reaching solution in the gene editing technology CRISPR, which allows them to tailor therapies to specific resistance mutations.^1,2

The most promising application of the findings is the potential to resensitize resistant bacteria to standard antibiotics, but the researchers will have to develop better delivery methods to fully capitalize on the system's possibilities...