Why don't antibiotic-making bacteria self-destruct?

Early in 2025, scientists discovered a promising new antibiotic in a soil sample from a lab technician's backyard. The molecule, called lariocidin, is produced by the microbe Paenibacillus and shows broad activity against pathogenic bacteria, including several that are multi-drug-resistant. Now, the researchers report in ACS Infectious Diseases how Paenibacillus avoids harm by its own antibiotic—information that is crucial for developing lariocidin or similar compounds into new drug candidates.