Technology Review: Bacteria vs. Humans: Score One for Us

Technology Review: Bacteria vs. Humans: Score One for Us: "Bacteria vs. Humans: Score One for Us
Researchers in San Diego announce a new molecule that stops bacteria from mutating to become resistant to antibiotics. "

Microbes have ruled the earth for more than a billion years; comparatively, we humans are just upstarts. Yet since the invention of penicillin in 1940, we have inflicted a crippling blow on many types of bacteria that make us ill or kill us.

But the bugs have struck back by activating DNA that is prone to errors when it replicates. This increases the chance that mutations will develop to fend off the mortal threat posed by antibiotics. In 2005, biochemist Floyd Romesberg of the Scripps Research Institute, near San Diego, announced that his lab had discovered a gene called LexA that switches on the error-prone DNA, enabling the microbe to mutate rapidly.

Shortly before this announcement, Romesberg presented some startling findings during a meeting at the institute I cofounded, the BioAgenda Institute. Romesberg, a short, intense man with a graying beard and an ability to explain complex ideas to nonscientists, told us that his lab had learned how to turn off LexA. Several major biotechnology figures at the meeting said to me, "This is huge." At the time, several top-tier venture-capital firms were vying for Romesberg's attention in hopes of starting a company. Ned David was one of the lucky cofounders who later named the company Achaogen--"achao" means "against chaos" in Latin.