Chemspy chemistry news and views

New antibiotic could make food safer and cows healthier - Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists at the University of Illinois. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis. The researchers published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.