Haluk Beyenal
Haluk Beyenal

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University researchers for the first time have discovered how electrical stimulation works for the treatment of bacterial infections, paving the way for a viable alternative to medicinal antibiotics.

The researchers passed an electric current over a film of bacteria and in 24 hours killed almost all of a multi-drug resistant bacterium that is often present in difficult-to-treat infections. The remaining bacterial population was 1/10,000th of its original size.

The researchers also tested the method on pig tissue, where it killed most of the bacteria and did not damage surrounding tissue.

The research appears in Nature Scientific Reports, an open-access online journal from the publishers of Nature.

View full story at WSU Today

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