Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
A LOCAL DRUG COMPANY AND ANOTHER GROUP HAVE COMBINED EFFORTS TO FIND ANTIBIOTICS FROM
THE OCEAN. KPBS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY REPORTER PEGGY PECO EXPLAINS WHY THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE GAVE NEARLY $30 MILLION FOR THE PROJECT.
WHAT YOU SEE ARE THESE LARGE FLASK THAT EACH CONTAIN A DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BACTERIA.
Reporter: THE DIRECTOR OF SCRIPPS CENTER OF BYE BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOMEDICINE EXPLAINS
HOW HE HARVESTS ANTIBIOTIC FROM OCEAN WATER SAMPLES.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GROWING THESE FOR ABOUT SEVEN TO TEN DAYS. THEY PRODUCE ANTIBIOTICS
DURING THAT TIME. AFTER THAT PERIOD OF TIME, WE THEN EXTRACT THE MATERIALS DIRECTLY FROM
THE CULTURE.
THE ROOM REEKS OF BACTERIA COLLECTED FROM THE WATERS OFF OF LA JOLLA SHORES. IT'S THE
LAST RESOURCE ON EARTH TO MAKE NEW MICROBES FOR ANTIBIOTICS.
OVER 1 BILLION MICROORGANISMS LIVE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN IN THE VOLUME OF A SUGAR
CUBE. WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE. WE NEED TO PULL THEM OUT OF THE OCEAN AND CULTURE
THEM AND TO BE SURE THEY CAN BE DEVELOPED INTO NEW ANTIBIOTICS IN THIS NEW AGE OF INFECTIOUS
DISEASES.
Reporter: THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AGREES. THEY AWARDED SCRIPS AND A SAN DIEGO-BASED
DRUG COMPANY TRIUS TECHNOLOGIES NEARLY $30 MILLION TO DEVELOP NEW DRUGS TO COUNTER BIOWEAPONS
AND WAR ZONE INFECTIONS. BUT DRUG RESISTANT SUPERBUGS ARE THE REAL THREAT.
WE'RE IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION RIGHT NOW WITH RESPECT TO THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIOUS
DISEASES. ESTIMATES ARE THAT WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, 100% OF STAPH ORGANISMS WILL BE
DRUG- RESISTANT.
Reporter: THIS IS ONE COLLECTION OF MICROBES AT SCRIPS. THERE'S ABOUT 1,000 PETRI DISH
WITH MICROORGANISM THAT ARE DIVERSE AND YOU CAN TELL BY LOOKING AT THEM. THE BIODIVERSITY
FOUND IN FISH, PLANTS, SAND, AND EVEN THE WATER ITSELF WILL BENEFIT GENERATIONS TO COME,
SAYS THE SCIENTIST, IF HE CAN HARVEST A FEW BACTERIA FROM THE VAST PACIFIC.
IT'S ULTIMATELY, WE HOPE, WE'RE ALMOST SURE, WILL RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW ANTIBIOTIC.
ACTUALLY, WE'RE SHOOTING FOR THREE OR FOUR.