New hope against superbugs: Promising antibiotic candidate discovered

The novel glycopeptide saarvienin A is highly effective against resistant pathogens

University of Vienna

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An international team of researchers, led by the University of Vienna and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, has discovered saarvienin A, a new type of glycopeptide antibiotic. Their findings, now published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, introduce a compound with strong activity against highly resistant bacterial strains.

Antibiotic-resistant infections are on the rise, threatening to make even common diseases deadly again. Without new antibiotics, experts warn that up to 100 million lives could be lost annually by 2050. In search for new compounds, researchers from several institutions, including the University of Vienna and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), have turned to the study of actinobacteria – microorganisms that are well-known for living in unusual environments and producing antibiotics such as vancomycin, rifamycin, and chelocardin. Jaime Felipe Guerrero Garzón from the Division of Pharmacognosy at the University of Vienna's Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, discovered strong antibiotic activity in extracts from a strain of Amycolatopsis isolated from a Chinese rare earth mine, which prompted further investigation. Martin Zehl, Head of the Mass Spectrometry Center at the University of Vienna, found out that this antibiotic activity was associated with a potentially novel compound of the class glycopeptides. Using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the collaborating team at HIPS identified a completely new molecule: saarvienin A. 

Breaking the rules: A glycopeptide with a twist 

Saarvienin A's special feature became clear early on: unlike established glycopeptides such as vancomycin, the new compound does not bind the typical bacterial target involved in cell wall synthesis. Instead, it probably acts through a different, as yet unresolved mechanism. Structural analysis revealed a distinctive architecture: a halogenated peptide core cyclized through an unusual ureido linkage, decorated with a chain of five sugar and aminosugar units — two of which are completely new to natural products. "We were excited to find that saarvienin A doesn't fit into any known category," said Jaime Felipe Guerrero. "Its unique structure could pave the way for antibiotics that bacteria have never encountered before."

A strong weapon against resistant bacteria 

In close collaboration, researchers at HIPS, led by corresponding author Rolf Müller, characterized the biological activity of saarvienin A, named after Saarbrücken and Vienna. Tests of the new molecule against bacteria focused in particular on "ESKAPE pathogens" – a notorious group of superbugs known to evade most current antibiotics. The compound showed remarkable acivity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), including 3 ESKAPE pathogens and 26 clinical isolates. It consistently outperformed vancomycin, even against strains already resistant to multiple other antibiotics. "Discovering a new antibiotic is only the beginning," said corresponding author Sergey B. Zotchev from the University of Vienna. "Now we face the fascinating challenge of refining it into a drug candidate suitable for clinical use."

Next steps: Engineering for the clinic 

With the biosynthetic genes for saarvienin A already identified and cloned, the international team plans to use medicinal chemistry and biosynthetic engineering to optimize the molecule. A key goal is to reduce cytotoxicity while maintaining antibacterial activity. Although challenges remain, the discovery of saarvienin A provides much-needed momentum in the fight against antibiotic resistance — and highlights the potential of unexplored natural sources.

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Journal

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI

10.1002/anie.202425588 

Article Title

Saarvienin A – A Novel Glycopeptide with Potent Activity against Drug-Resistant Bacteria.

 

Unintended, percolated work: Overlooked collaborative opportunities during end-of-life care

Researchers explore overlooked collaborative opportunities between informal caregivers and healthcare professionals in end-of-life care experienced during bereavement

Institute of Science Tokyo

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Scientists explore how missed collaborative chances during end-of-life care between caregivers and medical professionals can lead to UPW.

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Credit: Shun Saito from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan

Bereavement due to the loss of a close family member is a universal phenomenon, placing a significant psychological burden on the affected parties, triggering negative emotions like regret, self-blame, etc. This is particularly pronounced in informal/family caregivers involved in end-of-life care. Although healthcare professionals can provide emotional and medical support to the patients and help family members be prepared for their loved ones’ imminent death, little attention has been given to how medical professionals and family members can effectively collaborate to make end-of-life care smooth.

To resolve this, Mr. Shun Saito, a graduate student, and Associate Professor Taro Sugihara, from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, conducted semi-structured interviews with six bereaved family members and eight healthcare professionals. Their study aimed to understand what the stakeholders needed to realize about the experiences of their care journeys and what factors affected the collaborative activities between the stakeholders involved in end-of-life care. They published their findings on April 25, 2025, in the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'25) proceedings held between April 26–May 01, 2025. The interviews were conducted by Mr. Saito between August and December of 2022 with men and women aged between 20–80 years who had experienced bereavement. Five doctors and three nurses with experience in end-of-life care related to death or senility also participated in the study.

Mr. Saito explains the overall findings from their study here, “Bereaved family members broadly recollected the mixed regretful actions and decisions that should have been taken during the end-of-life care process. Coordination and cooperation challenges that existed between healthcare professionals and family caregivers emerged as factors that impeded these actions at the time.”

This result led to the presence of unintended, percolated work (UPW), a key finding of this study. The authors classify UPW into three types. The first classification involves overloaded work experienced during the caregiving and end-of-life stages, which arose from the demands of their daily life, compounded by the added responsibilities of caregiving, placing extreme mental strain and capacity overload on the family caregiver. The second classification involves overlooked work due during the end-of-life and near-death stages, stemming from the situational changes in the caregivers’ activities towards the patients’ near-death. This left the caregivers helpless and abandoned due to a lack of support from medical professionals and other family members.

The third classification is about overstepped work experienced during the near-death stage by medical professionals, where doctors and nurses intervene in the patients’ care, unintentionally disregarding the agency of the family caregivers. This left the medical professionals feeling burn out and with difficulties in trying to replace the family members.

“Our findings redirect the shift in attention from achieving caregivers’ perceived needs to nurturing collaboration by addressing invisible work and unshared emotions. We recommend reframing care and end-of-life care as a continuous process, integrating previously separate research perspectives to inform better support designs,” concludes Mr. Saito about their work.

Overall, UPW—activities where stakeholders unintentionally exceeded their expected duties—shed light on collaborative opportunities between medical professionals and family caregivers, suggesting improved designs for medical professionals and technological support to make end-of-life care easier.

 

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About Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo)
Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) was established on October 1, 2024, following the merger between Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), with the mission of “Advancing science and human wellbeing to create value for and with society.”

 

About Associate Professor Taro Sugihara from Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), Japan
Dr. Taro Sugihara is an Associate Professor at the School of Environment and Society, Science Tokyo, Japan. His major research domains include humanities and social sciences, rehabilitation science, human interfaces and interactions, and informatics. He has published over 50 articles and has more than 250 citations. Also, he collaborated with other researchers and published a book based on the assistive technologies aiding in dementia care. Additionally, he has been awarded the prestigious 13th Academic Encouragement Award and is one of the esteemed recipients of the 9th Research Group Award, Human Interface Society of Japan.

 

Funding information
This research was supported by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (award numbers: 20H04470 and 22K04581).

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DOI

10.1145/3706598.3713552 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Unintended, Percolated Work: Overlooked Opportunities for Collaboration Between Informal Caregivers and Healthcare Professionals During the End-Of-Life Care Process

 

Exercise the key to maintaining Vitamin D levels in winter, study finds

University of Bath

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The sun may be shining now, and our vitamin D levels are getting a natural boost but it wasn’t long ago we were in the depths of winter, when sunlight was scarce and vitamin D was in short supply.

Now, new research from the University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge and others, published in Advanced Science has revealed that regular, moderate-intensity exercise helps maintain crucial vitamin D levels during the darker months—even without weight loss or supplements.

Researchers found that people with overweight and obesity who completed a 10-week indoor exercise programme over winter experienced significantly smaller drops in vitamin D levels compared to those who didn’t exercise—even though their body weight was deliberately maintained.

The programme involved four sessions per week: two treadmill walks, one longer steady-state bike ride, and one high-intensity interval bike session.

Notably, exercise completely preserved the body’s active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D₃), which plays a key role in supporting bone health, the immune system, and various organs. Previous studies suggest that vitamin D supplements alone do not help maintain this active form.

Lead author Dr Oly Perkin from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism, Department for Health at the University of Bath said:

“This is the first study to show that exercise alone can protect against the winter dip in vitamin D. It’s a powerful reminder that we still have lots to learn about how exercise benefits our health.”

Key findings:

• People who exercised saw a smaller drop in their overall vitamin D levels over winter — about 15%, compared to a 25% drop in those who didn’t exercise.
   
• Importantly, those who exercised kept healthy levels of the active form of vitamin D, which helps support the immune system and bone health.
   
• In the non-exercising group, levels of this active form fell by 15%.
   
• Weight was kept stable throughout the study, proving the effect was due to exercise—not weight loss.

To ensure sunlight didn’t skew results, the study ran between October and April—when natural vitamin D production from sunlight is minimal in this part of the UK —and participants were asked to avoid supplements.

A previous study from the team showed that a single workout can briefly boost vitamin D levels, this is the first to show that regular cardio exercise can maintain basal circulating vitamin D levels and offer lasting protection during the winter months.

Prof Dylan Thompson Principal Investigator for the VitaDEx study said:

“Collectively, the findings from the VitaDEx project show that exercise increases the concentrations of vitamin D metabolites each time you are active – and, on top of this, doing regular activity helps to maintain your basal resting levels of vitamin D during winter. This means exercise gives you a double benefit to your vitamin D – firstly in and around each exercise bout, and secondly through changing your baseline levels.”

With over 50 adults taking part in this sophisticated and carefully designed randomised controlled trial, the study offers compelling evidence that exercise could be an effective winter vitamin D strategy—especially for those who are overweight or obese for whom vitamin D supplements are less effective.

Liam Kilawee who took part in the study said: “I was impressed on how thorough the process was and how the team engaged with me during research period. The results were pleasing as I could see that my actions had a positive reaction.”

Dr Oly Perkin added: “If you're worried about your vitamin D levels in the winter, keeping up regular exercise every week will help, and offer a load of health benefits that vitamin D supplements cannot.”

Prof Thompson added: “These findings have implications for policy makers and healthcare professionals. Exercise should be part of any strategy to improve vitamin D status and metabolism during winter.”

This research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Exercise without Weight Loss Prevents Seasonal Decline in Vitamin D Metabolites: The VitaDEx Randomized Controlled Trial is available at: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202416312

ENDS

Notes to editor

• The full list of collaborators on this study are:1Centre for Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath; Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham; Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge; University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Du Cane Road, London; Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Bath

For more information, please contact:
Rebecca Tanswell
University of Bath Press Office
Tel: 01225 386319
Email: rlt54@bath.ac.uk   

About the University of Bath
The University of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities, recognized for high-impact research, excellence in education, an outstanding student experience, and strong graduate prospects.

• Ranked in the top 10 of all the UK’s major university guides.
• Among the world’s top 10% of universities, placed 150th in the QS World University Rankings 2025.
• Rated in the world’s top 10 universities for sport (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024).

Research from Bath addresses critical global challenges, fostering low-carbon living, positive digital futures, and improved health and wellbeing. Learn more about our Research with Impact: https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/research-with-impact/

 

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Journal

Advanced Science

DOI

10.1002/advs.202416312 

Article Title

Exercise without Weight Loss Prevents Seasonal Decline in Vitamin D Metabolites: The VitaDEx Randomized Controlled Trial

Article Publication Date

14-May-2025

 

Too much sleep can hurt cognitive performance, especially for those with depression, UT Health San Antonio study finds

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

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SAN ANTONIO, May 14, 2025 – There might be such a thing as getting too much of a good night’s sleep.

Sleeping nine hours or more per night is associated with worse cognitive performance, which is even more the case for those with depression, a study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center (UT Health San Antonio) shows.

They derived the results from an examination of sleep duration and cognition in 1,853 dementia-and-stroke-free participants in the Framingham Heart Study, which is an ongoing community-based cohort study of residents in Framingham, Massachusetts, under the direction of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. This latest examination focused on those ages 27 to 85 with a mean age of 49.8 years.

“Also, long-sleepers were more likely to report symptoms of depression,” said Vanessa Young, MS, clinical research project manager at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio. “Sleep may be a modifiable risk for cognitive decline in people with depression.”

Young, who also is with the Translational Science PhD program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio, is first author of the study titled, “Long sleep duration, cognitive performance, and the moderating role of depression: A cross-sectional analysis in the Framingham Heart Study,” published April 21 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Authors also represent Arizona State University; the Framingham Heart Study; Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal; University of Montreal; Boston University; and Monash University, Australia.

“Long but not short sleep duration was associated with poorer global cognition and specific cognitive abilities like memory, visuospatial skills and executive functions,” said Sudha Seshadri, founding director of the Biggs Institute and senior author of the study. “These associations were stronger in people with depressive symptoms, regardless of antidepressant usage.”

Sleep and brain health

According to the study, there is increasing recognition of the significance of sleep as a vital physiological process for brain health. Disturbances in sleep duration and patterns have been observed across lifespans and are present in both normal and pathological aging.

These disturbances contribute to an increased risk of cognitive deficits and Alzheimer’s disease. The Global Council on Brain Health recommends 7 to 8 hours of nightly sleep for adults to preserve brain health. Several studies have suggested that both excessive and insufficient sleep relative to the prescribed duration are linked to impairments in cognitive domains, including memory, attention and the ability to manage and direct other mental processes, such as planning, problem-solving and controlling impulses. 

However, evidence has been marked by inconsistencies depending on the lifespan being examined, and on health differences such as depression. Depression, a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline, often co-occurs with sleep disorders. The association between sleep disorders and depression is well established, with about 90% of people with depression reporting problems with sleep, the study notes.

In the new research, the scientists investigated whether depression modified the associations between sleep duration and cognitive performance. The Framingham participants were categorized into four groups: no depressive symptoms, no antidepressants; depressive symptoms without antidepressant use; antidepressant use without depressive symptoms; and depressive symptoms and antidepressant use.

They found that long sleep was associated with reduced overall cognitive function, with the strongest effects in those with depressive symptoms using and not using antidepressants. Weaker but significant effects were observed in those without depressive symptoms. No significant associations were observed in participants using antidepressants without depressive symptoms.

With that, they concluded that associations between sleep duration and cognitive performance are strongest in individuals with depressive symptoms, regardless of antidepressant use.

“Future longitudinal studies including large-scale, multi-modal approaches are needed to further elucidate the temporal relationship between sleep disturbances and cognitive changes,” the researchers said in their conclusion.

 

Long sleep duration, cognitive performance, and the moderating role of depression: A cross-sectional analysis in the Framingham Heart Study

Vanessa M. Young, Rebecca Bernal, Andree-Ann Baril, Joy Zeynoun, Crystal Wiedner, Carlos Gaona, Alexa Beiser, Antonio L. Teixeira, Arash Salardini, Matthew P. Pase, Jayandra Jung Himali, Sudha Seshadri

First published: April 21, 2025, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association

Link to full study: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.70160

 

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) is one of the country’s leading health science and research universities. With missions of teaching, research and patient care, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions, graduate biomedical sciences and public health have graduated more than 45,000 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit UTHealthSA.org.

 

Stay connected with UT Health San Antonio on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases is dedicated to providing comprehensive dementia care while advancing treatment through clinical trials and research. The Biggs Institute is a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). In addition to patient care and research, the Biggs Institute partners with the School of Nursing at UT Health Science Center San Antonio to offer the Caring for the Caregiver program. 

 

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Journal

Alzheimer’s & Dementia

DOI

10.1002/alz.70160 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Long sleep duration, cognitive performance, and the moderating role of depression: A cross-sectional analysis in the Framingham Heart Study

 

No car, no problem: Unlikely car-free families

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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In a world where cars symbolize freedom, some Israeli families are finding liberation in going without them. A new study from the Hebrew University explores the surprising motivations of middle-class parents in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem who choose to live car-free—not out of necessity, but by design. Their reasons range from fear of driving to a desire for healthier lifestyles, stronger communities, and more independent children. These “outlier” families offer powerful insights that challenge transportation norms and open new avenues for policy and planning.

[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]– In a society where owning a car is often seen as essential, a new study by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds light on an unlikely trend: middle-class families with children who voluntarily choose to live without a car.

The study, conducted by Professor. Galit Cohen-Blankshtain and Professor. Anat Gofen from the Federmann School of Public Policy and Governance at Hebrew University, examined 27 Israeli families in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv that have opted for a carless lifestyle. Contrary to expectations, these families were not primarily motivated by financial limitations or environmental concerns. Instead, their decisions stemmed from a mix of personal values, such as promoting children’s independence, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, fostering a strong sense of community, and—perhaps most unexpectedly—fear of driving or car ownership responsibilities.

“Our research shows that although a carless lifestyle poses challenges, there are many benefits that are overlooked by car-dependent families.” said Professor. Cohen-Blankshtain. “Their experiences highlight interesting motivations and adaptive practices that could reshape how we think about transportation policy.”

The study identifies instrumental and emotional strategies used by carless families to navigate daily life—such as living in walkable neighborhoods, using taxis or rental cars when necessary, and customizing their routines to reduce the need for spontaneous travel. The researchers argue that these outlier families offer valuable insights into reducing society’s dependence on private vehicles.

According to Professor. Gofen, “Studying the outliers helps us expand the conversation beyond typical economic or environmental rationales. These families remind us that meaningful change often starts with those who don’t follow the mainstream.”

The authors advocate for broader policy support to make car-free living more accessible, including improved mobility services, public messaging that emphasizes the benefits of active and community-oriented lifestyles, and tools to help all families move away from default car dependence.

This study is published in the Journal of Transport Geography and contributes to global conversations on sustainable urban mobility, outlier-focused policy design, and the future of family life in dense urban environments.
 

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Journal

Journal of Transport Geography

DOI

10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.104095 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Understanding voluntary carlessness: Why outliers matter