Novel blood test for tuberculosis could also identify high risk of infection
A novel phage-based blood assay has demonstrated its potential for identifying people at high-risk of developing tuberculosis, in addition to diagnosing established cases.
Browsing: Bacteriophage
ASM Microbe: Phages isolated from kitchen sponges
Researchers from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT, NY, USA) have discovered and characterized two bacteriophages from kitchen sponges.
Engineered phages successfully treat case of drug-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus
Phage therapy using genetically engineered bacteriophages has treated a 15-year-old girl who developed a drug-resistant infection following a lung transplant, as outlined in Nature Medicine.
Phages trigger antiviral responses, helping bacteria to evade the immune system
Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses a phage to trick the host’s immune system into ignoring it, in turn suppressing bacterial clearance from infected wounds, according to new research.
First US clinical trial for intravenous phage therapy gets FDA approval
A first for clinical trials in the US as researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine get US FDA approval to use intravenously-administered bacteriophage therapy in hopes of combatting resistant bacteria.
Lysis vs lysogeny: phages tap into quorum-sensing as control mechanism
A bacteriophage, VP882, has been identified to use bacterial quorum-sensing as a method to control the lysis-lysogeny decision. This is the first time a virus has been shown to detect a bacterial molecule.
CRISPR-based antimicrobials: gene- and pathogen-focused applications
In recent years, researchers have discovered the potential of CRISPR as an antimicrobial. In this blog post we explain the recent advances made in this field and the different approaches by which CRISPR can be used as a new weapon in the battle against antimicrobial resistance.
Bacteriophages: new method of genetic transduction uncovered
Scientists, led by the National University of Singapore and the University of Glasgow, have used the term ‘lateral transduction’ to describe a novel, dangerously-potent mechanism of bacteriophage-induced genetic transduction.
ASM Microbe: Could bacteriophages play a part in the development of Parkinson’s disease?
Researchers demonstrate for the first time the importance of bacteriophages in the development of multifactorial diseases such as Parkinson’s, a potentially critical factor that has been previously over-looked.
Phage cocktails and the future of phage therapy
In this review, the authors consider phage therapy that can be used for treating bacterial infections in humans, domestic animals and even biocontrol in foods. They also explore common practice – both experimental and, in certain regions of the world, clinical – of mixing therapeutic phages into cocktails consisting of multiple virus types.
