Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) accounts for nearly 19,000 deaths annually from hospital-acquired infections. Antibiotics which might otherwise penetrate the pathogen’s defenses, don’t work because the organism has gained a way to protect its cell wall. Using a novel nanoparticle strategy, however, scientists at IBM and the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore, have figured out how to selectively attach polymers to the bacteria and infected cells, thereafter destroying them. Interestingly, these polymers are injected into the body where they assemble new structures that then affix to the targets by electrostatic force.   MORE