Manchester fellowship explores bacteria’s hidden weapons against AMR

Manchester researcher wins major fellowship to study bacteria’s hidden weapons

A University of Manchester researcher has secured a major fellowship to investigate how bacteria attack their rivals, work that could reveal new ways to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

Gloved hands holding a laboratory dish, accompanying antimicrobial resistance research at Manchester Image: University of ManchesterOriginal source

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A Manchester scientist has secured a major University Fellowship to investigate the elaborate ways bacteria compete with and attack one another.

Dr Will Smith’s work will examine why some microbes maintain several different biological weapons at once, including systems that can inject toxins into rival cells or deploy virus-like particles.

The research may sound like microscopic warfare, but the practical goal is serious. A better understanding of bacterial competition could reveal new approaches to antimicrobial resistance and help scientists develop more biological control technologies.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major long-term threats to modern medicine, so research that expands the toolkit beyond simply developing more of the same antibiotics could prove valuable.