--- title: Scientists Found a New Antibiotic, And It's In Your Nose description: German researchers have found a bacteria that produces an antibiotic able to combat the often-resistant pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. canonical: https://time.com/4426641/antibiotic-nose-super-bug/ author: Emma Ockerman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-27T18:36:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:35:37.575Z article:section: Health og:title: Scientists Found a New Antibiotic—and It's In Your Nose og:description: It could combat a "super bug" og:url: https://time.com/4426641/antibiotic-nose-super-bug/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb13ab681f8356f43/69889fc7196cf42f2703c9a2/stapylococcus_aureus_mrsa_072716.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Staphylococcus Aureus Sem og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Found a New Antibiotic—and It's In Your Nose twitter:description: It could combat a "super bug" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb13ab681f8356f43/69889fc7196cf42f2703c9a2/stapylococcus_aureus_mrsa_072716.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # German Scientists Found a New Antibiotic—and It's In Your Nose by [Emma Ockerman](https://time.com/author/emma-ockerman/) ## Emma Ockerman Jul 27, 2016 6:36 PM UTC  Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).BSIP—UIG via Getty Images by [Emma Ockerman](https://time.com/author/emma-ockerman/) ## Emma Ockerman Jul 27, 2016 6:36 PM UTC German researchers have found a[ bacteria that produces an antibiotic](http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/14/a-superbug-toxin-could-help-fight-infection/?iid=sr-link5) able to combat the often-resistant pathogen[ _Staphylococcus_ _aureus_](http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1672934,00.html?iid=sr-link1), and it’s in the human nose. The antibacterial substance, which researchers named lugdunin, was able to effectively treat infections in mice caused by [Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause severe skin and wound infections](http://time.com/4078710/staph-infections-babies/?iid=sr-link3), according to a[ study published in Nature on Wednesday.](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v535/n7613/full/nature18634.html) When scientists applied the antibiotic to skin lesions of the mice that had been infected, they observed “dramatic reductions” in the wounds. Such infections have become increasingly resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat them, including methicillin, leading to the “super bug” known as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Scientists have said, though, that lugdunin may be able to combat more antibiotic-resistant strains, and might not be prone to develop resistance like other antibiotics, the [Los Angeles _Times_ reports](http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-sn-antibiotic-discovery-nose-20160727-snap-story.html). The bacteria that produces lugdunin, _Staphylococcus lugdunensis,_ is present in about 10% of humans, the [Washington _Post_ reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/07/27/scientists-find-new-antibiotic-in-the-human-nose/?wpisrc=al%5Falert-hse), and can also cause infections. However, according to the published findings, researchers found that only 6 percent of the 187 hospital patients they surveyed who carried the bacteria also carried Staphylococcus aureus, compared to the roughly 34 percent of hospital patients without the bacteria. While the findings are encouraging, scientists still aren’t quite sure how lugdunin works and clinical development could be years away, according to the _Post_ report. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4426641/antibiotic-nose-super-bug/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4426641/antibiotic-nose-super-bug/"},"headline":"German Scientists Found a New Antibiotic—and It's In Your Nose","datePublished":"2016-07-27T18:36:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:35:37.575Z","description":"It could combat a \"super bug\"","url":"https://time.com/4426641/antibiotic-nose-super-bug/","keywords":["Research","Germany","Bacteria"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb13ab681f8356f43/69889fc7196cf42f2703c9a2/stapylococcus_aureus_mrsa_072716.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Emma Ockerman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/emma-ockerman/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb13ab681f8356f43/69889fc7196cf42f2703c9a2/stapylococcus_aureus_mrsa_072716.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Staphylococcus Aureus Sem","caption":"Staphylococcus Aureus Sem","creditText":"BSIP—UIG via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4426641/antibiotic-nose-super-bug/","name":"German Scientists Found a New Antibiotic—and It's In Your Nose"}}]}] ```