ANT-ibiotics: The research using insects to help battle superbugs

In 30 years time, it is predicted that more people could die through antibiotics becoming less resistant to infection than through cancer or diabetes.

Only last year the England's chief medical officer, Sally Davies warned that “The world is facing an antibiotic apocalypse.”

It could see a return to the time when a simple cut could lead to infection and possible death.

The Government is running a campaign to reduce the amount of antibiotics we use, scientists at the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre in Norwich are working on projects that will develop new ones.

Professor Matt Hutchings is researching a colony of Leafcutter ants using fungi and bacteria to produce antibiotics.

The UEA is looking at soil to help discover new drugs. It's part of a long term project to discover whether medicines derived from soil samples can help fight disease.

The UEA's research project will later this week be part of an exhibition opening in London tomorrow It's called Superbugs: The Fight for Our Lives.

The problem stems from the antibiotics that we use today. Many of them were discovered in the 1940s and 50s, but because of misuse many of them are losing their efficacy.

Public Health England says a fifth of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary,

An estimated 5,000 people die in England each year as a result of drug-resistant infections.

If we don't tackle this, drug-resistant infections could kill more people than cancer by 2050