Bacteria-Killing Viruses: The Surprising Nutrient Packets for Mammalian Growth
Bacteriophages, also called phages, are viruses that infect and kill bacteria, their natural hosts. But from a macromolecular viewpoint, phages can be can be viewed…
Bacteriophage News
From the Abyss: New Virus Discovered in Earth’s Deepest Ocean Trench
The Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth, descends almost 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) at its lowest point on the floor of the Pacific Ocean….
The Extraordinary “Rapunzel” Virus: An Evolutionary Marvel
Extremely long tail provides a window into how bacteria-infecting viruses assemble. A recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry has revealed the secret behind…
Scientists Successfully Edit the Genes of Nature’s Master Manipulators
Researchers are utilizing the gene-editing technology CRISPR to modify the viruses that have evolved to engineer bacteria. CRISPR, the revolutionary gene-editing tool, is making waves…
Viruses Are Both the Villains and Heroes of Life As We Know It – Nature’s Powerhouses for Genetic Innovation
Viruses have a bad reputation. They are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and a long list of maladies that have plagued humanity since time immemorial….
Reality Is Almost Stranger Than Fiction: The Incredible Bacterial “Homing Missiles” That Scientists Want to Harness
A Berkeley Lab-led team is digging into the bizarre bacteria-produced nanomachines that could fast-track microbiome science. Imagine there are arrows that are lethal when fired…
“Nanoscale CAT Scan” – Liquid-Cell Technology Offers First 3D View of Life’s Processes
A new liquid-cell technology allows scientists to see living biological materials and systems in three dimensions under an electron microscope, according to researchers at Penn…
Using DNA and Bacteriophages as Rewritable Memory Storage
Synthetic biologists have been able to encode a kind of rewritable memory directly into DNA, after seeking ways to use biological data-storage systems effectively. This…