New hope in hospital bugs fight

Research which could lead to new ways of killing hospital infections such as C difficile has been revealed.

Scientists at St Andrews and Aberdeen universities have been studying how tiny openings on the cell walls of bacteria open and close to release pressure. If these openings did not operate properly, pressure would be allowed to build up and the bacteria would explode and die.

The researchers say that by controlling the openings, it would be possible to slow the growth of bacteria or kill them. They say the next stage is to find new chemicals which will help to keep the channels open or shut.

Professor James Naismith, who led the St Andrews University research, said: "The motion is just like that of a camera iris and being able to see this motion is an amazing discovery.

"Not only is this a major step forward in scientific understanding of a fundamental process in biology but it paves the way for the development of new drugs against bacteria.

"It is vital to the bacteria that the channel fully closes and only opens at the right times as mistakes either way would be fatal.

"New chemicals designed to force channels to stay open or shut are likely to kill or at the very least, greatly slow down the growth of bacteria.

"Slowing down the growth gives the body's natural defences time to tackle its bacterial invader."

The work is the culmination of structural studies research at St Andrews combined with molecular studies at Aberdeen and is published in the journal Science.

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