All Phage Therapy articles
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NewsResearch to uncover hidden life cycle of bacteriophages
Some bacteriophages can quietly replicate inside bacteria for generations without killing their hosts, making these infections difficult to detect with standard methods. A new research project will investigate this hidden life cycle and explore whether understanding it could help scientists engineer more effective phage therapies against drug-resistant infections.
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NewsOncolytic viruses and CAR cells team up against solid tumors
Oncolytic viruses and CAR-T or CAR-NK cells could be engineered together to overcome some of the biggest barriers in solid tumor treatment. A new review outlines how these therapies may be combined into programmable systems that improve tumor targeting, immune-cell infiltration and sustained antitumor activity.
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NewsBacterial immunity—or a form of sex?
Researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions.
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NewsResearch uncovers how bacteria fight viruses, opening the door to better virus-based antibiotics
New research has revealed that bacteria detect viruses when a viral enzyme cuts an important sensor molecule in the bacterium, kicking off the immune response. The discovery paves the way for development of better phage therapies that can evade the bacterial immune system.
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NewsNew tool closes gap on untapped potential of phages
A new tool to mutate bacteriophages – viruses that infect bacteria – provides a big leap forward in both our understanding of how they function, and our ability to harness their full potential. The new method allows for genome-wide mutagenesis of bacteriophages using CRISPR-Cas technology.
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NewsResearchers uncover what could make some bacteria-killing viruses more effective than others
Bacteriophages — or phages, for short — are viruses that kill bacteria, and scientists have been studying them for decades as a possible solution to antibiotic-resistant infections. But phages are notoriously picky eaters — a phage that can eradicate one bacterial strain is often powerless against others, even if the ...
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NewsGut microbiome features predict devastating disease affecting preemies
In a discovery that challenges long-standing assumptions about necrotizing enterocolitis, researchers have identified previously unknown predictors for the disease. They found that bacteria-infecting viruses and bacterial antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiomes of babies are additional harbingers of necrotizing enterocolitis.
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NewsFirst-of-its-kind preventative phage therapy provides promising results
The mammalian gut microbiome is teeming with a delicate balance of bacteria and the phages that keep them in check. What if the phages in the gut could prepare for an orally ingested pathogen and strike it down as it enters the gut, negating the need for a battle?
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NewsLab tackles antibiotic resistance across multiple fronts in new trio of studies
To defeat multidrug-resistant superbugs, bacterial defenses must be confronted wherever they may emerge, from basic genetic mutations in a laboratory, to complex real-world transmission in hospital rooms. A new trio of studies demonstrates how an integrated approach might yet expose and overcome these diverse survival mechanisms.
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NewsMicro-bladder model offers clues to stopping recurrent UTIs
A new study shows that phage therapy – the use of tiny viruses to kill bacteria without harming people – could help to reduce recurrent infections, which happen when the bacteria responsible for UTIs ‘hide’ in the tissue of the bladder.
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NewsA viral ‘loose cannon’ enzyme helps phages shut down bacterial defenses
Scientists have found how phages, viruses that infect bacteria, orchestrate an explosion of protein modifications inside host cells that helps them evade the bacteria’s immune systems.
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NewsThinking beyond antibiotics in the treatment of urinary tract infections
A promising new study combines phage therapy (PT) with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to treat recurrent urinary tract infections.
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NewsScientists find hidden individuality in viral infections
An international team of researchers developed a new way to uncover hidden differences in how viruses infect and destroy individual microbial cells—solving a biological puzzle that has persisted for more than 80 years.
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NewsClinical trial aims to break the cycle of recurrent urinary tract infections with bacteria’s natural enemies
Researchers’ data-driven microbiological and phage therapy approaches may help move phage therapy beyond case-by-case experimental use toward a strategy that is predictable, measurable and clinically interpretable.
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NewsResearchers use friendly viruses to tackle inflammatory bowel disease
A research team has developed a targeted approach to treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using bacteriophages, viruses that infect specific bacteria, to disarm harmful microbes without disrupting the broader gut ecosystem.
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NewsRNA barcoding approach reveals previously unknown virus-host relationships
Researchers have uncovered previously unknown relationships between bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts. They found a previously unreported group of bacterial hosts for the well-studied bacteriophage P1 and examine how subtle changes in viral structure influence which microbes a phage can target.
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NewsMolecular anchors on gut phages may open new avenues for therapeutic development
A new study has identified phage surface proteins acting as molecular anchors. These proteins confer phages with the ability to attach to human cells. Using genetic engineering, the researchers transferred these adhesion proteins onto the surface of another phage that otherwise lacked this ability.
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NewsScientists probe antiviral molecules in bacteria that target bacteriophages
Researchers have examined the antiviral molecule daunorubicin, produced by Streptomycetes, and decoded its mode of operation against viruses. They now describe this mechanism, which primarily targets a specific group of viruses – namely bacteriophages.
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NewsThe future of phage therapy will be decided by more than science alone
As antimicrobial resistance accelerates worldwide, leading experts gather in Valencia to address the scientific, regulatory, manufacturing and clinical challenges that will determine whether phage therapy becomes a routine healthcare solution.
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NewsGladstone launches Center for PhAIge Therapy to harness AI in the fight against drug-resistant infections
Gladstone Institutes has received funding to establish the Center for PhAIge Therapy, a research center that will develop new phage-based treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The five-year grant makes Gladstone one of three institutions across the country selected to lead this coordinated effort.