How can bugs make drugs?

 

                    Penicillin was the first antibiotic that was made from a mould. Since then, many other drugs have been produced from moulds and bacteria. No one knows why these substances are produced, but they may help to defend the host organism from other microscopic invaders. Most antibiotics work by damaging the ability of bacteria to reproduce and form new cell walls. In this way the body’s own defences can kill off the bacteria.

                    Microbes probably help make antibiotics and other substances to defend themselves against other organisms. They are able to evolve very quickly, changing their body chemistry to produce new substances to suit changes in their environment or threats to their existence.

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