Scientists Uncovers New Medical Miracle Found In The Vagina

Researchers have discovered a new antibiotic, made by the bacteria that live in the vagina. According to a news report on Nature,  the drug, Lactocillin, hints at the untapped medical potential of this microbial landscape. Michael Fischbach led a team to figure out how our microbiomes (the bacteria living in our bodies) impact our health, research which proceeded to reveal thousands of molecules that could act as drugs.

“We used to think that drugs were discovered by drug companies and prescribed by a physician and then they get to you,” Fischbach says. “What we’ve found here is that bacteria that live on and inside of humans are doing an end-run around that process; they make drugs right on your body.”

One example of these was a Thiopeptide antibiotic produced by a bacteria that normally lives in the Vagina. According to the researchers while they couldn't prove it produced the antibiotic while in the body, it did when they grew it in lab conditions.

The researchers found that the drug could kill the same types of bacteria as other thiopeptides — for instance, Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause skin infections.

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