Bacteria have been using CRISPR for millions of years.

    This discovery, on the one hand, discouraged scientists, and on the other hand, pointed to a new way to deal with resistant bacteria. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is considered one of the major threats to human health.

    Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that primitive bacterial parasites use CRISPR to fight each other. They have probably been doing this for millions of years. Now scientists intend to use evolutionary advances to counter resistant bacteria. 

   This discovery, on the one hand, discouraged scientists, and on the other hand, pointed to a new way to deal with resistant bacteria. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is considered one of the major threats to human health.

    Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that primitive bacterial parasites use CRISPR to fight each other. They have probably been doing this for millions of years. Now scientists intend to use  evolutionary advances to counter resistant bacteria. 

    Scientists have, of course, found a way to take advantage of this situation as well. Since this system most likely evolved to specifically attack plasmids, it is likely that it could be used to attack plasmids carrying antibiotic-resistant genes, Pinilla-Redondo said.

    Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics by acquiring genes that form resistance to drugs. Very often this happens when plasmids transport such genes from one bacterium to another. By disrupting this mechanism with the help of CRISPR programmed for this purpose, one can potentially cope with the problem, the authors say.

    Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the main threats to human health, so all potential strategies to combat resistance will be evaluated by scientists in the next stages of research.

    Another tool to fight resistant bacteria could be the device of American scientists. They have developed a device that identifies them in the patient's blood.