Molecular Pencil Sharpener (IMAGE)

Rutgers University

Molecular Pencil Sharpener

Caption

In this depiction of a "molecular pencil sharpener," the pentagons are chemicals that make a "warhead" toxic once it is "sharpened" by Tld - bacterial proteins. The proteins are inactive until a "leader" -- the pencil wood surrounding the graphite in this portrayal -- is removed. The wood shavings inside the sharpener are the remains of the leader being chopped up by the proteins, releasing a powerful antibiotic that kills E. coli bacteria.

Credit

Dmitry Ghilarov/Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and David Lawson/John Innes Centre

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