DNA biosynthesis discovery could lead to better antibiotics

Combating several human **pathogens**, including some biological **warfare agents**, may one day become a bit easier thanks to research reported by a University of Iowa chemist and his colleagues in the April 16 issue of the journal *Nature*. Amnon Kohen, associate professor of chemistry in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said that the study indicated a **new mechanism** by which certain organisms manufacture the **DNA base thymidylate**. This new mechanism is so very different from the way humans synthesize this base that drugs targeting this biosynthetic path in the pathogens are unlikely to affect the human path, thus resulting in very reduced side effects or no side effects at all. "Physorg.com":[ http://www.physorg.com/news159112477.html]

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