“Microbiology research will receive a boost this year. <...> In particular, faculty and students from Moscow State University, the Institute of Experimental Medicine, NArFU (Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University) and RUDN University (Peoples' Friendship University of Russia) will study microorganisms in order to develop new antibacterial medications. The researchers will look for cold-resistant or psychrophilic microorganisms that live in the Arctic and which have not been previously studied. These microorganisms secrete enzymes that can be used in the dairy industry,” Alexander Saburov, head of the AFU 2022 expedition and director of the Institute for the Strategic Development of the Arctic at Northern (Arctic) Federal University, said.
He also noted that polar bacteria’s potential for medical use is very high, since it can survive in extreme conditions. The WHO has identified antibiotic resistance as the cause of a crisis in modern medicine and has come up with the Global Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. Two fundamentally different strategies for obtaining new antibiotics are now underway: a search among nonculturable bacteria and the creation of breakthrough artificial molecules. Both strategies have brought results. More than 90 percent of all types of bacteria found in the outdoor environment cannot be cultivated under regular laboratory conditions.
Another microbiology project will be devoted to studying arctic bacteriophages (viruses) that destroy bacteria. This area of research also holds promise for creating new medications to combat infections.
In addition, Arctic expedition crew members’ sleep and anxiety disorders will be studied for the first time this year.
Source: https://arctic.ru/resources/20220514/1000840.html.