Funds rewarded to UK universities to fight drug-resistant bugs

Scientists at three UK universities have been given £1.5 million to fund research that could help develop treatments for diseases caused by bacteria.

Teams at Aberdeen, St Andrews and Oxford universities will use the cash - awarded by the Wellcome Trust - to develop the findings of two studies that discovered how to control a protective mechanism in bacteria that helps them grow and stay alive.

Scientists have revealed they are able to manipulate the protein or channel that protects E coli, salmonella, legionella - which causes Legionnaires' disease - and pseudomonas, which can affect cystic fibrosis patients and sufferers of other chronic lung conditions.

It is hoped more research will help the development of new antimicrobial drugs.

Professor Ian Booth, from the University of Aberdeen's Institute of Medical Sciences, has been researching E coli for more than 30 years.

He said: "With this new funding from the Wellcome Trust we will develop our understanding of these channels with the aim of creating potential new drugs to tackle a range of bacteria which has become more resistant to anti-biotics."