Biochemists may have discovered a type of antibiotic that sounds like something out of a fairy tale: It is based on dragon blood.

Scientists from George Mason University recently isolated a substance in the blood of a Komodo dragon that appeared to have powerful germ-killing abilities.

The blood of Tujah, a 45-kilogram male komodo dragon, is a "rich source" of potential antibiotics. Credit:Facebook: St Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

Inspired by the discovery, they created a similar chemical in the lab and dubbed it DRGN-1.

Tests on mice that were given skin wounds infected with two types of bacteria showed that DRGN-1 had three valuable properties: It punched holes in the outer membranes of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, it dissolved the biofilms that glue bacteria together, and it sped skin healing.