In the hunt for novel antibiotics, will new technology overtake underwater exploration?
Chemist Brian Murphy is among those dedicated to pairing old-fashioned exploration with 21st-century technology to find new antibiotics and fill the "discovery void" in the field.
LAKE SUPERIOR — Choppy, windswept waves slap at the hull as our boat nears the last known location of the Lucerne, aFinding these tiny aquatic organisms is the reason a trio of young scientists have set off with a local divemaster. The hunch is these sponges could be a source for new chemical molecules, which, in turn, could be the basis for new antibiotics. Looking north under overcast skies in late August, the lake stretches all the way to the gray-blue horizon line, which appears to seesaw back and forth.
