“Thanks, scientist people!”

Scientists found a bacteria so effective at killing they resolved to call it after the killing-machine himself, Keanu Reeves.

Well, Reeves isn’t technically the killing machine, some of his most legendary characters are, but, potato, potato. The scientists’ sentiment is still there and Reeves has since responded to having a type of bacteria named after him.

In February, 2023, scientists at the Bio Pilot Plant in Germany revealed they’d created a new compound which can effortlessly kill disease-causing fungi.

And so, with Reeves’ killer characters in mind and clearly fans of his franchises, they decided to name the compound ‘Keanumycins’, a type of lipopeptide, which is a molecule consisting of a lipid connected to a peptide.

For those of us who dropped science in school at the first opportunity we got, certain lipopeptides are used as antibiotics and they can have strong anti-fungal properties.

A study on the recent disease killer creation was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Explaining the thought process behind the name ‘Keanumycins’, lead author Sebastian Götze said: “The lipopeptides kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles.”

Keanu Reeves portrays the ruthless lead in John Wick. (Lionsgate)

Now, if you’re wondering what Reeves’ thoughts are on the whole thing, thankfully we now know as the Hollywood star took to a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread on 4 March to answer fans’ burning questions.

Referencing the science news, one asked: “Researches from Germany found a compound naturally produced by some type of bacteria that is so effective at killing fungi, they named it after you: keanumycins. What are your thoughts about that?”

They were sure to add ‘have a good day’ at the end, to which Reeves said ‘thank you’ – and there we were thinking we couldn’t love him anymore.

Elaborating on this thoughts on the name, the actor said: “They should’ve called it John Wick… but that’s pretty cool… and surreal for me.

“But thanks, scientist people! Good luck, and thank you for helping us.”

To be fair, the John Wick suggestion’s not a bad idea – although we’re happy they went with his real name. He deserves all the recognition he gets.

The actor was on hand to answer fans’ questions. (Reddit/ u/mrwebb06)

If you want to know more about the Keanu-inspired compound, it’s capable of fighting against fungi that causes disease in plants like Botrytis cinera, as well as varieties that can be dangerous to humans, like Candida albicans.

At low concentrations, Keanumycins would not be toxic to the human cell, according to tests conducted so far.

That would make it the perfect candidate for the development of new antimyotics (medicines that stop fungal infections) – a product that the pharmaceutical world is in desperate need of.

Essentially, The Last Of Us might have been a very different story if Keanumycins had been involved.