National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center researchers yesterday announced the discovery of a detox mechanism of typhoid bacteria, which allows the bacteria to repel antibiotics and develop drug resistance, while the findings could help develop medicine to inhibit drug resistance.
Researchers Chen Chun-jung (陳俊榮) and Jean Yuch-cheng (簡玉成) analyzed the structure of Salmonella enterica and discovered a channel-like structure on the bacteria’s membrane protein, which could capture antibiotics and toxins inside the bacteria and remove them via the channel structure.
The channel structure is 300,000 times narrower than a human hair, Chen said, adding that the team discovered it by subjecting the protein crystals — assemblages of protein cultivated for study by X-ray or other light sources — of the bacteria to synchrotron radiation at both the Taiwan Light Source synchrotron in Hsinchu City and the SPring-8 synchrotron in Harima, Japan.
The synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that allows for the observation of atomic structure through a sustained beam of electromagnetic waves on different wavelengths brighter than that from an X-ray tube.
Twenty-one million new cases of typhoid fever and more than 200,000 deaths occur annually worldwide and antibiotic therapy is the major treatment for typhoid fever, while it often has limited effect due to the bacteria’s ability to “pump out” antibiotics, Chen said.
The same channel structure has also been discovered on other bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which could cause serious food poisoning and post-surgery infections respectively, Chen said, adding that the team’s work could enable pharmaceutical companies to design drugs that block the channel to reduce the bacteria’s drug tolerance.
Traditional medicine development selects about 250 types of compounds from 5,000 to 10,000 kinds of small molecules for animal testing before narrowing down to less than 10 compounds for human trials, which generally take 15 years, as traditional X-ray devices take a day to analyze the atomic structure of a molecule, while the Taiwan Photon Source synchrotron in Hsinchu could lower the analysis time to 30 seconds and the entire development process to three weeks, Jean said.
“Over the past 18 years, there have been six Nobel Prizes awarded to scientists who use synchrotron in combination with protein crystallography to understand the structure of proteins. The Taiwan Photon Source synchrotron is expected to boost Taiwan’s number of Nobel Prize winners,” Jean said.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS