Pseudomonas bacteria infected by different mutations of a jumbo phage. The dot in the middle is the shield created by the phage to protect its DNA after it has infected the bacterial cell. Image by ...

Clinicians have used phages to treat bacterial infections since the early 20 th century. Although the advent and mass production of antibiotics caused a decline in phage therapy, the recent rise in ...

Researchers at the University of Southampton have used advanced imaging techniques to uncover how bacteria use a mechanism called Kiwa to defend themselves against phage viruses. Phages are seen as a ...

Bacteriophages, or phages, viruses that selectively target and infect bacteria, have drawn growing attention for their potential use in a host of biotechnological processes to benefit humankind, from ...

This illustration shows a phage (virus) attaching to a bacterial cell. The Kiwa defence system (shown in yellow, green, and blue) detects the threat and binds the invading DNA, preventing the phage ...

Jumbo phages belong to a group of viruses that attack bacteria. They inject their DNA and then reproduce by taking over the cell’s DNA-copying machinery. Eventually, a phage makes so many copies of ...