Hit 'em where they eat: Stealth drug fights resistant bacteria

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Researchers have been on the hunt for new drugs to combat bacterial 'superbugs.' A new report describes success using gallium, a metal that bacteria confuse for iron, which they take up as a nutrient. Gallium, however, works as a Trojan horse, disrupting bacteria's ability to multiply. In mice, gallium cured lethal lung infections, and in a small test in humans with cystic fibrosis, gallium improved patients' lung function.

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