How an emerging anti-resistance antibiotic targets the bacterial membrane

Scientists are planning for a future in which superbugs gain the upper hand against our current arsenal of antibiotics. One emerging class of drug candidates, called AMLPs (antimicrobial lipopeptides), shows promise, and a study ixplains why: they selectively kill bacterial cells, while sparing mammalian host cells, by clumping together into microscopic balls that stick to the bacterial membrane -- a complex structure that will be slower to mutate and thus resist drugs.