Mystery compound may hold the key to cures

ONE OF the world's most advanced microscopic scanners is being used to study bacteria taken from mud samples recovered from the deepest place on Earth — the Mariana Trench — in the search for new drug discoveries.

The research project involves scientists at IBM Research in Zurich and Aberdeen University, who say their findings could pave the way for the creation of life-saving drugs by harnessing the potential of marine organisms.

Aberdeen University's Marine Biodiscovery Centre was established to explore the use of ocean resources in treating diseases from cancer to bacterial infections. Since last year its researchers have been investigating a bacterium taken from a mud sample from the trench, almost seven miles below the surface of the Pacific. The pressure-tolerant bacterium, Dermacoccus abyssi, produced a mystery chemical compound that has now been identified using a scanning technique developed by IBM Research in Switzerland.

Professor Marcel Jaspars, director of the discovery centre, said the collaboration could open new possibilities in drug discovery and treatments.