This Powder Could Rescue Antibiotics

Each year, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) means more than a million people die from infections that no longer respond to existing antibiotics, making AMR one of the greatest global health challenges of our time. Listen to Jeannine Hess, a Group Leader at the Crick, and Lars Stevens Cullinane, a member of her lab, explain how they use metal complexes and blue light to fight back against the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance. Ever since antibiotics were developed, harmful bacteria that cause infection and disease have found ways to evade them. One of the ways they do this is by changing the proteins on their surface so an antibiotic cannot bind. Jeanine and her lab are working to bring back the power of antibiotics. They are using metal complexes that, when activated under blue light, produce highly-reactive compounds that break up the proteins. When these proteins are destroyed, the bacteria can once again be killed by the antibiotics. Read more: https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-11-27_how-phototherapy-could-reverse-antibiotic-resistance https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c12405 In this video: 00:00 Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria 00:23 A New Light-Based Approach 00:36 Destorying Bacteria's Defence 01:55 Checking It Works 02:49 In the Red Lab 04:21 Next Steps Disclaimer: The powder shown in this film has been used for illustrative purposes. The powder shown in the footage is a precursor compound which is used to make the final metal complex discussed in the film. The finished metal complex powder is near identical in appearance but the lab has currently only produced small amounts.