According to Field, nanosponges are an “agnostic” treatment, meaning their effectiveness at fighting infections isn’t tied to the presence of a specific bacteria. That could make them especially versatile.
Drug-resistant bacteria are killing more and more humans. We need new weapons.
Scientists are testing futuristic tools to dismantle antibiotic resistance.
“I don't think that we can just keep producing different iterations of antibiotics, because bacteria are smart and are going to keep becoming resistant to whatever,” Field said. “So I think we need to take a step back and really have more of a broad approach to what we're doing.”
The excitement about all of these up-and-coming innovations should be kept in check, because most drugs that go into the initial phase of clinical testing do not move forward, Anthony McDonnell, a health economist and senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development, said.
Instead, “there needs to be global targets or some global system to reduce unnecessary [antibiotic] use, we need to do more infection control, because that stops people getting sick in the first place,” he told me.
The future holds promise. But people around the world need help today.
This project was funded in part by the International Center for Journalists through the Health Innovation Fellowship.
Correction, June 6, 2:15 pm ET: This post previously misstated the university where a group of researchers is developing nanosponges. It is UC San Diego, not the University of San Diego.