Genes & Cells

A boost for tired antibiotics, plus a fishy mom’s mucus and high-gravity microbes in this week’s news

One-two punch for bacteria Old standby antibiotics that don’t work alone might still slay drug-resistant microbes if the beasties are weakened with other meds. Combinations of antibiotics are known to yield germ-fighting power, but researchers from Canada and Scotland were surprised to learn that dosing microbes with drugs designed for ills such as cancer, irritable bowl syndrome and alcoholism allowed antibiotics to move in for the kill.