An antibiotic drug made by adding hydrogen atoms to streptomycin, used to treat tuberculosis and other bacterial infections.
From 'di-' (two) + 'hydro-' (hydrogen) + 'streptomycin' (an antibiotic from soil bacteria). Developed in the mid-20th century as an improvement over streptomycin with potentially fewer side effects.
Dihydrostreptomycin is a case of good intentions gone wrong—scientists created it to treat tuberculosis with fewer side effects than regular streptomycin, but it turned out to cause deafness, showing that small chemical changes can have unexpected consequences.
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