Devil's milk has proved to be an unlikely weapon in the increasingly desperate global fight against superbugs. Australian researchers have discovered that peptides contained in the milk of Tasmanian devils can kill some of the most deadly bacterial and fungal infections, including golden staph.

Having scanned the devil's genome and discovered the six naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides, researchers from Sydney University set about replicating them artificially. They then tested the peptide's effectiveness at killing some of the most harmful bacteria known to humans.

"It was really exciting," said PhD candidate Emma Peel.

Given the marsupial delivers highly under-developed young after just 21 days gestation, there was some expectation that mother's milk would play a role in the development of the joeys' immune system after birth. However Ms Peel, a biologist, said they weren't expecting to find what they did.