Bacteriophage News and Research

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Bacteriophages are small, virus-like organisms that infect bacteria. They are comprised of a protein capsule around an RNA or DNA genome.

Researchers now have a clear picture of bacterial immune system

Bacteria's ability to destroy viruses has long puzzled scientists, but researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health say they now have a clear picture of the bacterial immune system and say its unique shape is likely why bacteria can so quickly recognize and destroy their assailants.

15 Aug 2014

More than half the world’s population is host to newly described gut virus

Odds are, there-s a virus living inside your gut that has gone undetected by scientists for decades. A new study led by researchers at San Diego State University has found that more than half the world-s population is host to a newly described virus, named crAssphage, which infects one of the most common types of gut bacteria, Bacteroidetes.

24 Jul 2014

NeuroPhage engineers series of molecules with potential to treat most neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers from NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have engineered a series of molecules with the potential to treat most neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by misfolded proteins, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

23 Apr 2014

Scientists discover viruses containing genes for antibiotic resistance in fossilized human feces

A team of French investigators has discovered viruses containing genes for antibiotic resistance in a fossilized fecal sample from 14th century Belgium, long before antibiotics were used in medicine.

28 Feb 2014

Researchers discover unusually large bacteriophage that infects anthrax bacterium

From a zebra carcass on the plains of Namibia in Southern Africa, an international team of researchers has discovered a new, unusually large virus (or bacteriophage) that infects the bacterium that causes anthrax.

28 Jan 2014

Rice University-based research develops fast biosensor for pathogens in food

An array of tiny diving boards can perform the Olympian feat of identifying many strains of salmonella at once.

23 Jan 2014

Landes Bioscience releases special issue on sepsis

A special issue on sepsis has been released by the publisher Landes Bioscience (Austin, TX USA). The articles contained in this special issue of the journal Virulence have been authored by world-class investigators and provide new insights into both the pathogen-related factors and the host defense mechanisms that lead to septic shock and contribute to its resolution or fatal outcome.

7 Jan 2014

AmpliPhi BioSciences completes sale of $18M of common stock in private placement financing

AmpliPhi BioSciences Corporation, the global leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat drug resistant infections, announced today that it has completed the sale of approximately $18 million of common stock in a private placement financing. The Company has issued an aggregate of 72,007,000 shares of the Company's common stock at a price per share of $0.25. Net proceeds from the placement are approximately $16.9 million.

24 Dec 2013

Tel Aviv University researchers discover a protein that kills bacteria

In the arms race between bacteria and modern medicine, bacteria have gained an edge. In recent decades, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has developed faster than the production of new antibiotics, making bacterial infections increasingly difficult to treat. Scientists worry that a particularly virulent and deadly "superbug" could one day join the ranks of existing untreatable bacteria, causing a public health catastrophe comparable with the Black Death.

3 Dec 2013

AmpliPhi, University of Leicester partner to develop novel bacteriophage therapy against C. difficile

AmpliPhi BioSciences Corporation, the leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat antibiotic resistant infections, announces it has entered into Collaboration and License Agreements with UK-based University of Leicester to develop a novel bacteriophage therapy targeting Clostridium difficile, a serious gastrointestinal infection for which new treatments are urgently required.

17 Oct 2013

AmpliPhi releases data on phage therapy for treatment of lung infections in Cystic Fibrosis patients

AmpliPhi BioSciences Corp. (OTC: APHB) ("AmpliPhi"), the leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat drug resistant bacterial infections, yesterday presented data relating to the use of bacteriophages in the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) at the 20th Biennial Evergreen International Phage Meeting held in Olympia, Washington, USA. P. aeruginosa is the major cause of lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

8 Aug 2013

C. difficile bacteriophage provides new weapon to battle against superbugs

IFR microbiologists are reinvigorating a way of battling C. difficile infections that they hope will help overcome the growing problem of antibiotic resistant superbugs in hospitals.

19 Jul 2013

Drug targeting of phages could offer a potential new path to mitigate antibiotic resistance

Bacteria in the gut that are under attack by antibiotics have allies no one had anticipated, a team of Wyss Institute scientists has found. Gut viruses that usually commandeer the bacteria, it turns out, enable them to survive the antibiotic onslaught, most likely by handing them genes that help them withstand the drug.

11 Jun 2013

A*STAR, Cytos Biotechnology provide update on Phase 1 clinical trial of H1N1 influenza vaccine

Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research and Switzerland's Cytos Biotechnology AG today announced that the first healthy volunteer has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial with their H1N1 influenza vaccine candidate based on Cytos' proprietary bacteriophage Qbeta virus-like particle technology.

17 May 2013

New biosensor detects antibiotic resistance in bacteria, can help fight superbugs

On May 8th JoVE will publish research that demonstrates how a biosensor can detect antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This new technology is a preliminary step in identifying and fighting superbugs, a major public health concern that has led to more deaths than AIDS in the United States in recent years.

9 May 2013

Scientists find new way to move DNA through cells

Scientists have cracked a 35-year-old mystery about the workings of the natural motors that are serving as models for development of a futuristic genre of synthetic nanomotors that pump therapeutic DNA, RNA or drugs into individual diseased cells.

22 Mar 2013

Intralytix’s SalmoFresh food safety product receives GRAS recognition from FDA

Intralytix, Inc. announced today that its latest food safety product, SalmoFresh, has received GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) recognition from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

28 Feb 2013

Researchers study response of living cells to artificial protein

One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniques-collectively referred to as synthetic biology-have been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.

28 Dec 2012

Bacteriophages may play an important role in competition among bacterial strains

Unique viruses called bacteriophages may play an important role in competition among bacterial strains, influencing the overall ecosystem of the human intestine, scientists at The University of Texas at Arlington and UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

11 Dec 2012

New discovery could help revolutionize antibiotic treatment of bacteria

Three Simon Fraser University scientists are among six researchers who've made a discovery that could help revolutionize antibiotic treatment of deadly bacteria.

20 Oct 2012