Sydney, Aug 18 - Scientists have synthesised a powerful new chemical from a marine bacterium that kills resistant bugs found in hospitals.

Equally important, the new chemical, called Fijimycin, is unlikely to have adverse side-effects on people, as it has been proved safe when fed to lab mice. The chemical was produced by a marine bacterium grown from a sediment sample collected from the Nasese area of Suva in Fiji.

The research was conducted by scientists from the University of the South Pacific's, Institute of Applied Sciences in Fiji.