Powerful New Antibiotic Was ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ For Decades

By David Nield – Science alert

Researchers have just identified a powerful new antibiotic – in a significant discovery made not by breaking new ground, but by revisiting familiar territory.

The compound, pre-methylenomycin C lactone, was discovered by a team from Warwick University in the UK and Monash University in Australia. While it’s never been spotted before, it comes from a type of bacteria that scientists have studied for decades.