Transcript
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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.
