Latest Bacteriophages Stories

Fast Phage™, 8-Hour Warning, 16-24 hour Coliphage Fecal Indicator Test for Water Lawrence, MA (PRWEB) October 10, 2012 A study published in the August 2012 Journal AWWA* showed that Charm Sciences Fast Phage test for detecting somatic and male-specific coliphage in water is equivalent to USEPA method 1601. The Fast Phage test provides results in less than 18 hours with an early 8 hour positive fluorescent warning. Inexpensive ready-to-use reagents make coliphage testing easy and...

Caltech researchers measure the rate of DNA transfer from viruses to bacteria Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have been able, for the first time, to watch viruses infecting individual bacteria by transferring their DNA, and to measure the rate at which that transfer occurs. Shedding light on the early stages of infection by this type of virus—a bacteriophage—the scientists have determined that it is the cells targeted for infection, rather than the...

In an effort to save the dwindling honeybee population researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas are looking to viruses to help treat one of the most destructive and widespread bee brood diseases in the United States. They report their findings today at the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. "Our food supply depends on the actions of millions of insects such as the common honeybee. Due to the importance of honeybees a pollinators in the agriculture of...

WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Micreos of The Netherlands has attracted additional capital for accelerated growth of its phage business. Altria Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Altria Group, has acquired a5% stake in Micreos, viewed as global leader in phage technology for targeted control of bacteria. Phage technology is set to change the world, because it is safe, simple, natural and has no side effects. Unlike antibiotics and...

Viruses that can target and destroy bacteria have the potential to be an effective strategy for tackling hard-to-treat bacterial infections. The development of such novel therapies is being accelerated in response to growing antibiotic resistance, says Dr David Harper at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin. Bacteriophages are viruses that can infect bacteria and multiply within them, breaking down the cell and destroying the bacteria - amplifying themselves...

MIT researchers have discovered that certain photosynthetic ocean bacteria need to beware of viruses bearing gifts: These viruses are really con artists carrying genetic material taken from their previous bacterial hosts that tricks the new host into using its own machinery to activate the genes, a process never before documented in any virus-bacteria relationship. The con occurs when a grifter virus injects its DNA into a bacterium living in a phosphorus-starved region of the ocean. Such...

New discovery bonds to anthrax spores, not just anthrax bacteria A new study has shown previously unseen details of an anthrax bacteriophage — a virus that infects anthrax bacteria — revealing for the first time how it infects its host, and providing an initial blueprint for how the phage might someday be modified into a tool for the detection and destruction of anthrax and other potential bioterror agents. The bacteriophage, known as Bacillus anthracis spore-binding phage 8a (or...

New research in the FASEB Journal suggests that site-specific recombinases from either yeast or phages act not only to tag and target but also to exchange specific genes in DNA A combination of two techniques promises to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of experimental gene therapies, while also reducing potential side effects says a new research report published in the December 2011 issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org). The report describes how scientists from...

Pseudomonas deploys a toxin delivery machine to breach cell walls of rivals without hurting itselfMicrobiologists have uncovered a sneaky trick by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa to oust rivals. It deploys a toxin delivery machine to breach cell walls of competitors without hurting itself.Its means of attack helps it survive in the outside environment and may even help it cause infection.P. aeruginosa is a common bacterium that lives in soil, and also an opportunistic pathogen best known...