Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have identified new ways to combat tuberculosis and reduce bacterial resistance, developing three new antibiotics derived from scorpion venom and habanero peppers. A team led by Lourival Domingos Possani Postay, from the Institute of Biotechnology’s Morelos campus, created two drugs that demonstrated efficacy against the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, responsible for tuberculosis, as well as against Staphylococcus aureus, a microorganism that in hospital environments can cause various clinical complications, from skin infections to potentially fatal diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, septicemia, and endocarditis. The antibiotics were derived from the venom of the scorpion Diplocentrus melici, native to the state of Veracruz. The team was able to isolate two colorless molecules called benzoquinones—heterocyclic compounds that do not contain amino acids—from the arachnid’s toxin. These molecules have a particular property: When they come into contact with air, they oxidize and change color. One becomes blue and the other red. This behavior allowed scientists to determine their chemical structure, synthesize them in the laboratory, and evaluate their biological properties. The …