New antibiotic attacks bacteria in never-before-seen way

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://today.uic.edu/new-antibiotic-attacks-bacteria-in-never-before-seen-way/

June 9, 2026

Scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered a new antibiotic that may be a bulwark in the fight against drug-resistant superbugs, according to new research published in Nature.

…

“This new antibiotic is amazing because it targets a site of the ribosome that has never been targeted by any other molecule before,” Travin said.

By attacking the ribosome in a new way, manikomycin can evade the existing mechanisms pathogens have developed to resist antibiotics.

That means “bacteria need to jump through hoops to find resistance,” said Alexander Mankin, distinguished professor in the Retzky College of Pharmacy. The paper was co-authored by Mankin and includes UIC co-authors Dorota Klepacki and Nora Vázquez-Laslop.

…

Kaur, M., Travin, D.Y., Berger, M.J. et al. A natural depsipeptide antibiotic binds the E-site of the bacterial ribosome. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10589-2

[buzzycrumbhunger]

1. Should have included the name...

manikomycin

I guess if you hear your doc suggest it, you can simultaneously freak because it means you’ve got something BAD as well as have a sense of relief because there’s something available to work against it.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. It will be years before your Dr. offers it to you (if ever)

Moving from the lab to the Dr’s office is a long and arduous journey, which many promising drugs never complete.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

3. Ugh.

[popsdenver]

4. No kidding

Under WBush admin, and I bet it is far worse now, they allowed the company to do the testing, not the FDA.
Many drugs were approved, going by the manufacturers "claims", that were later proven to be lies, and drugs were pulled back off the market........
I can only imagine it is far far far worse now under Trump since 2016...............

[GB_RN]

7. Something This Potent...

Would likely be used in the same manner as vancomycin is currently. That means it’s restricted to hospitals, and ONLY used to treat infections that frontline (and possibly secondary) antibiotics haven’t/can’t/won’t touch.

I don’t see any way this gets out for general use and Rx by primary/urgent care providers.

[1WorldHope]

5. Yay science? I'm glad to see they are still doing it.

[ToxMarz]

6. I'll bet the bacteria have aready started jumping through the hoops.

[WestMichRad]

8. I wonder about its toxicity to mammalian cells.

[erronis]

9. If it is attacking ribosomes, all animal cells have those.

I'll hope that this new methodology is well studied before being used in general cases. We know what indiscriminate antibiotic use can cause.