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  • OUTLOOK

Drug discovery needs to change

James K. Martin argues that, to find new antibiotics, researchers need to leave the old molecules behind and take different approaches.
  1. James K. Martin

    1. James K. Martin is a postdoctoral researcher in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago, Illinois.

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When I was eight years old, I got a nasty splinter in the palm of my hand while I was climbing a tree with a friend. Thankfully, my mum was able to pull it out, apply a little antibiotic ointment and a sticking plaster, and in a few days, my palm had healed without incident.

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Nature 586, S57 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02888-z

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Antimicrobial resistance, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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