EphraimFischbach, a physicsprofessor at Purdue, was looking into the rateofradioactivedecay of severalisotopesasapossible source of random numbers generatedwithout anyhumaninput.
"It's the first time the same isotope has been used in two different experiments at two different labs, and it showed basically the same effect, " Prof Fischbach said.
Dr. Fischbach cautioned that "it's going to take a long time" before new drugs might be available, because there remains much to sort out not only the interplay between genetics and bacteria but also the wide variations in the bacteria on different people's bodies.