Chapter 1
The cellular soldiers of CAR-T
Chapter 2
Phage therapy and the viral assassins
Chapter 3
Fecal transplants and ecosystem medicine
Chapter 4
Genetically engineered micro-factories
Ch 2 · Phage therapy and the viral assassins
007skaty The Evolutionary Arms Race
To fight the virus, they must shut their outer door, But now the old antibiotics work once more!
007skaty Frederick Twort in 1915 and Félix d'Hérelle in 1917 independently discovered these viruses, which target specific bacteria unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics.
007skaty Scientists harvested matching viruses from sewage to destroy the drug-resistant bacteria.
BETA
007skaty Sort historical breakthroughs to discover how the Eliava Institute pioneered phage therapy.
Fun Fact
Phage numbers: There are an estimated 10 nonillion (10^31) bacteriophages on Earth, outnumbering all other organisms combined.
Glossary
bacteriophage (noun)
A virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Synthetic biologists can delete the cI repressor gene of bacteriophage lambda to engineer obligately lytic strains.
A virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Synthetic biologists can delete the cI repressor gene of bacteriophage lambda to engineer obligately lytic strains.
Gossip
Would you feel comfortable being treated with a medicine harvested from local city sewage?
Quiz
Who was one of the scientists who independently discovered bacteriophages in the 1910s?
Quiz
In what year did the landmark emergency phage therapy save professor Tom Patterson's life?
Quiz
From what unusual source did scientists harvest the phages that saved Tom Patterson's life?
Quiz
In which country is the historic Eliava Institute, a global hub for phage therapy, located?
Quiz
Why did Western medicine largely abandon phage therapy research in the mid-20th century?
Quiz
What is the process of breeding phages in a lab to overcome bacterial defenses called?