New microscopic technology elevates war on superbugs

03 January 2022
Our latest campaign promoted a brand new microscope that will help scientists discover what makes superbugs that cause pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis so resistant to antibiotics and why they are so deadly.

The campaign secured significant coverage in science, health and medical technology publications and raised awareness of a current health crisis gripping healthcare systems worldwide – when germs outperform antibiotics.

With 31 pieces of coverage in total, our campaign reached prolific science publications such as the global technology and engineering business development publication, The Engineer, cutting-edge scientific and tech research magazine Silicon Republic and popular EU policy and innovation title Science Business.

Promoting the NanoVIB consortium as a first to begin developing a super-resolution microscope that uses laser light to illuminate and localise proteins at incredibly high resolutions, we helped position the ‘NanoVIB’ project as a leader in super-resolution microscopy and antimicrobial resistance.

At the heart of the NanoVIB breakthrough are designs for their new super-resolution microscope that uses laser light to study ‘superbugs’ inner workings and behaviours, including bacteria such as Streptococcus Pneumoniae, which is responsible for the deaths of some 335,000 children a year worldwide.

Streptococcus pneumoniae oder Pneumokokken sind grampositive coccusförmige pathogene Bakterien, die neben Lungenentzündungen viele Arten von Pneumokokken-Infektionen verursachen. 3D-Illustration

The microscope will allow researchers to study the bacteria at a molecular scale, thereby shedding new light on how these superbugs cause disease and enabling the development of new antimicrobials to treat them.

Account Director at Matter PR, Sam Young, said:

“Our campaign has helped to raise awareness of a new technology that tackles one of the silent killers of our day: Streptococcus Pneumoniae, which is responsible for the deaths of some 335,000 children a year worldwide.

“Once again, the underlying, ‘invisible’ technology of photonics pops up in another crucial societal challenge – of tackling antimicrobial resistance. Without the NanoVIB team, the Photonics21 secretariat, and the groundbreaking technology of light, our understanding of superbugs will never advance.

NanoVIB project coordinator, Professor Jerker Widengren, said:

“Matter PR did a wonderful job of taking the complex science of super-resolution microscopy and antimicrobial resistance and made them very palatable to non-expert media. The result was a collection of media coverage we were really not anticipating!

“We expect our new microscope prototype to be a next-generation super-resolution system, making it possible to view cellular proteins at a ten-fold higher resolution than with any other current light microscopy technique. Using laser light, this new microscope will allow scientists to understand better the interaction of the bacteria with immune and host cells.”

If you are looking for a specialist science communications and PR agency that covers all aspects of science, technology and engineering, please get in touch with us today. Email info@matterpr.com or telephone on 01865 238 164