Loading ...Lakes, rivers near abandoned mine sites likely source of antibiotics
Canadian scientists from Laurentian University have found that waterbodies impacted by decades of mining activity could be a potential new source of antibiotics.
The group, led by Dr. J.A. Scott, a bioengineering professor, examined lakes and rivers located within five kilometres of abandoned Northern Ontario mine sites. The goal was to determine whether those stressed environments could produce algae with antibiotic properties.
The results, published in a recent issue of Phycologia, a journal that features research on algae, showed that, when tested against Staphylococcus aureus (a common, naturally occurring bacterium that can cause infections of the skin, lungs, brain or blood), 38% of the algae found near closed mines was effective against it. And their antibacterial property was stronger than what’s been uncovered in previous research.
Lakes, rivers near abandoned mine sites likely source of antibiotics