---
title: "Grammar-based peptide fights bacteria"
url: https://campbell-online.com/blog/2006/10/18/grammar-based-peptide-fights-bacteria/
description: "As a language geek, I can’t tell you how much I dig this story: Using grammar rules alongside test tubes, biologists may have found a promising new way to fight nasty."
published: 2006-10-18
updated: 2006-10-18
---

# Grammar-based peptide fights bacteria

Published 2006-10-18

October 18, 2006 · [Knowledge work](https://campbell-online.com/blog/category/knowledge-work/) · [Tools and techniques](https://campbell-online.com/blog/category/tools-and-techniques/)

As a language geek, I can’t tell you how much I dig this story:

> Using grammar rules alongside test tubes, biologists may have found a promising new way to fight nasty bacteria, including drug-resistant microbes and anthrax.
>  Studying a potent type of bacteria-fighters found in nature, called antimicrobial peptides, biologists found that they seemed to follow rules of order and placement that are similar to simple grammar laws. Using those new grammar-like rules for how these antimicrobial peptides work, scientists created 40 new artificial bacteria-fighters.
>
> Nearly half of those new germ-fighters vanquished a variety of bacteria and two of them beat anthrax, according to a paper in Thursday’s journal *Nature*.

[Grammar-based peptide fights bacteria - Yahoo! News](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061018/ap_on_sc/anti_bacterial_grammar_1)

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