Texas A&M Researchers Examine How Viruses Destroy Bacteria Nov 19, 2009
The attackers are called phages, or bacteriophages, meaning eaters of bacteria. The word bacteriophage is derived from the Greek "phagein," meaning eater of bacteria. (EurekAlert!)
Nanotechnology: Artificial Pore Created Sep 30, 2009
The engineered channel could have applications in nano-sensing, gene delivery, drug loading and DNA sequencing," says Guo. Guo derived the nanomotor used in the study from the biological motor of bacteriophage phi29, a virus that infects bacteria. Previously, Guo discovered that the bacteriophage phi29 DNA-packaging motor uses six molecules of the genetic material RNA to power its DNA genome through its protein core, much like a screw through a bolt. "The re-engineered motor core itself has... (Science Daily)
Scientists Discover Mechanism To Make Existing Antibiotics More Effective At Lower Doses Sep 12, 2009
29, 2007) Antibiotic doses could be reduced by up to 50 times using a new approach based on bacteriophages. Steven Hagens, previously at the University of Vienna, says that certain bacteriophages, a type of ... 22, 2007) Researchers have identified a bacteriophage active against Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant strains, in mice and possibly humans. (Science Daily)
The Virus That Binds: A Novel Idea Marries Biology And Mining Jul 29, 2009
I read an article about bacteriophage viruses that infect bacteria being used to create nanodevices in which proteins on the phage surface are engineered to bind to gold and zinc sulfide, says Dunbar ... Bacteriophage, commonly called phage, refers to viruses that infect bacteria ... Together they recently published a paper entitled Biomining with bacteriophage: Selectivity of displayed peptides for naturally occurring sphalerite and chalcopyrite in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering. (Science Daily)
Previously, some researchers and law-enforcement officials have raised red flags. May 13, 2009
Using pipettes and other equipment borrowed from his community college, he extracts viruses called bacteriophage from sewage and grows them in petri dishes ... But Mr. Holtzman says his roommates are "really uncomfortable" with him working with sewage water, so he's trying to find another source of bacteriophage. (Harper's Magazine)
Veterinary Oncologists Advance Cancer Drugs For Humans And Pets Apr 17, 2009
The investigators found that the TNF-(alpha) gene could be targeted to the tumor using a bacteriophage-based delivery system. Bacteriophage is a virus that can be engineered to target and infect tumor blood vessel cells. (Science Daily)
Engineered Viruses Combat Antibiotic Resistance Mar 3, 2009
Lu and James Collins, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of biomedical engineering at BU, took a new approach: engineering existing bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) to attack specific targets ... Lu, who completed his PhD at HST last year, won the 30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and the grand prize in the National Collegiate Inventors Competition in 2008 for his work with engineered bacteriophages ... In mice infected with bacteria, those treated with both... (Science Daily)
