Discovered within frog skin tissues by Michael Zasloff in 1987, magainins are antimicrobial, amphopathic peptides that lyse (i.e., burst) certain cells upon contact by “worming” their hydrophobic portion into the cell’s membrane, which creates a transmembrane (i.e., through the surface) pore (allowing ions to flow into the cell, causing osmotic bursting). Magainins are selective against bacteria, fungi, and protozoa cells (the word magainin comes from the Hebrew word for “shield”).