'Programmable' antibiotic harnesses an enzyme to attack drug-resistant microbes

(Rockefeller University) Conventional antibiotics are indiscriminate about what they kill, a trait that can lead to complications for patients and can contribute to the growing problems of antibiotic resistance. But a a 'programmable' antibiotic being developed at Rockefeller would selectively target only the bad bugs, particularly those harboring antibiotic resistance genes, and leave beneficial microbes alone.