Drugs from Bugs: Bioprospecting Insects to Fight Superbugs

(Credit: Yusnizam Yusof/Shutterstock) Somewhat like looking down the barrel of a gun, antibiotic resistance is a looming threat to modern medicine. The rise of MRSA, super drug-resistant gonorrhea and other “nightmare” bacteria risk rendering our microscopic defenses useless. What to do when your last-last-last resort fails to kill these pathogens? Someday, perhaps sooner than later, we’re going to need new antibiotics, not to mention medicines for cancer, depression, and other conditions that aren’t readily treatable by current prescriptions. So, how do we find new pharmaceuticals? Some argue that we’ve reached “peak pharma,” but Ross Piper, an entomologist and research fellow at the University of Leeds, contends that we haven’t even begun looking. Our best bet may be beneath our feet, in the diminutive world of insects, and he says this research might also ignite conservation efforts. “It could be a treasure trove of useful chemistry. Look at what compounds have ...