New one-two punch brings down bacteria Recent experiments in
which stretches of proteins and genetic material are inserted
into bacteria to silence genes have shown great promise as a
means of treating bacterial infection. By inactivating genes
such as those a bacterium needs to copy its genome, or those
that help it to resist antibiotics, the method can kill the
cells directly or make them more vulnerable to antibiotic drugs.
Yale scientists have now developed a technique that gets these
molecules into bacterial cells more efficiently, making the
procedure more effective than ever. The new method, which was
developed in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Sidney Altman,
Ph.D., Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and
Developmental Biology and professor of chemistry, combines a
fragment of protein based on a molecule in human immune cells
with a stretch of genetic material that can bind to and
inactivate a bacterial gene. In the October 4, 2011, issue of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Alt