New Finding Points Way To Foiling Anthrax's Tricks

... Anthrax, when inhaled, is nearly always fatal, in part because the bacteria have a very effective way of stealing iron from human cells to reproduce. This involves two molecules, siderophores, that compete with the body's own iron-transport molecules. UC Berkeley researchers have now found that humans produce a protein that sidelines one of these siderophores, but not the other. A drug that blocks the second siderophore should be able to stop anthrax in its tracks. ...