Researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, along with The Rockfeller University and the University of Maryland in the United States, have spent the past six years studying the structure of a viral protein called PlyC. They say they have discovered the way it kills the bacteria that causes a range of infections including sore throats, pneumonia and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. They have described the protein as a powerful anti-bacterial killing machine and say that discovering what it looks like and how it attacks bacteria is a major step forward in developing alternatives to antibiotics.
