Skyscraper climb lands ‘spiderman’ in custody
A new antibiotic that targets a wide range of superbugs appears better than standard treatment for some stubborn infections, according to a study that offers hope in the fight against drug-resistance.
The ‘‘Trojan horse’’ drug cefiderocol, which hijacks bacteria’s own biology to penetrate cells, eradicated germs more effectively than antibiotics now in use for urinary tract infections.
Cefiderocol will need further testing but experts said that of the 10 potential antibiotics in final-stage trials it could have the broadest impact.
The growth of antibioticresistant infections, fuelled by overuse of the drugs, is one of the gravest threats to modern medicine, raising the prospect that common infections will again become fatal. Public Health England has warned that three million operations and chemotherapy treatments a year could become too risky if antibiotics were not working. However, research has been limited as new therapies would be held back for emergency use, limiting sales for drug companies.
Now a trial of 448 adults with urinary infections resistant to multiple drugs showed that 73 per cent responded to cefiderocol after a week compared with 55 per cent on the standard combination of imipenem-cilastatin, according to results in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Simon Portsmouth, of Shionogi Inc, which makes the medicine, said: ‘‘Our results support cefiderocol as a novel approach that might be used to overcome gramnegative resistance.’’
Cefiderocol binds itself to iron that the bacteria need to survive and draw into themselves, bypassing their defences. ‘‘Cefiderocol acts as a Trojan horse,’’ Dr Portsmouth said. – With mouths hanging open and necks craned, a crowd stared with a mixture of awe and horror yesterday as they watched a Frenchman tiptoe along a tiny ledge 230 metres above the pavement.
A police cordon was put up around the Heron Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the City of London, as Alain Robert, nicknamed the human spider, slowly made his way up the side of the building over the course of an hour, only to be met by police who arrested him at the top.
The crowd cheered when Robert waved from three-quarters of the way up and again when he reached the top.
The free climber, 56, from Burgundy, has also scaled Dubai’s 828m Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the 380m Empire State Building in New York, without the use of protective equipment.
In 2012 he was seen inside the Shard, Britain’s tallest building, but was ejected and barred from returning by an injunction.
He apparently chose the Heron Tower from a shortlist of three two days ago, and had also considered the ‘‘Walkie-Talkie’’ on Fenchurch St or the ‘‘Cheesegrater’’ on Leadenhall St.
His stunt was intended publicity for a brand of rum.
‘‘I fully feel alive when my life is at stake,’’ he said before the climb, which was made using only a pair of climbing shoes and a bag of chalk to enhance grip.
He was detained by police at the top for causing a public nuisance.
Police said that the stunt had diverted members of the emergency services from other incidents and had posed a risk to people working in Heron Tower. – The Times to generate