Vaginas are pretty important. Other than being the main reason that the majority of the male population wakes up and gets dressed each day, they also managed to give life to literally every single human walking the face of the Earth. This is only the tip of the iceberg. A study suggests that soon vaginas may be adding “saved the world from post-antibiotic future” to their list of achievements.

Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy have isolated a certain bacteria in the vagina capable of killing off dangerous pathogens while sparing more peaceful and even useful bacteria. The bacteria is called Lactobacillus gasseri and it is the basis for Lactocilin, a possible antibiotic alternative. “This research demonstrates directly how the microbiome can convey protection against pathogens that are a constant threat to human health,” Joesph Petrosino, director of the Allkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome research at Baylor University told The Huffington Post. Their findings are published in the most recent issue of the online journal Cell.

In order to understand the power of Lactocilin, you first need to refigure your idea of the word “bacteria.” Our bodies are home to a microbiome made up of over 100 trillion bacteria. These bacteria are everywhere: airwaves, mouth, skin, gut, and of course the vagina. These bacteria are believed to do a number of things, such as influencing our food cravings and delivering neurological messages. They are also believed to play a vital role in keeping us healthy.

For example, according to Discovery Magazine, the gut bacteria in a healthy person looks very different to those in an individual suffering from irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease. Ironically enough, we get our very first bacteria from our mother the moment we enter the world from her good bacteria-rich vagina. Babies who are born via C-section were found to have less diverse bacteria in their biodome and even the presence of hospital-borne bacteria, such as Staphylococcus.

This specific vaginal microbe is responsible for naturally protecting the reproductive organ from dangerous pathogens. Researchers were able to harness the pathogen-fighting powers of L. gasseri through the help of the National Institutes of Health’s ongoing Human Microbiome Project.

This isn’t the only implication for the L. gasseri bacteria. Researchers are also hopeful to find similar-acting bacteria in different parts of the human body. "We think they still have bacteria producing the same drug, but it’s just a different bacterial species that lives in the mouth and has not yet been isolated,” lead researcher Micheal Fischbach told HuffPost. Even though the bacteria were harvested in females, researchers are confident it will have equal results when used in men.

The new ways to treat infection has never been more necessary. The World Health Organization described antimicrobial resistance as “an increasingly serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society,” and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that at least two million Americans will become infected with these antibiotic-resistant bacteria, leading to around 23,000 deaths. This way of creating drugs could be the answer for the increasing amounts of young patients seeking medical attention for infections that doctors have no idea how to cure.

Source: Fischbach MA, Donia MS, Cimermancic P, et al. A Systematic Analysis of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in the Human Microbiome Reveals a Common Family of Antibiotics. Cell. 2014.