Huge, bacteria-eating viruses could be a game-changer for antibiotics that currently struggle to fend off deadly infections.
By Adrianna Nine February 7, 2025
https://www.extremetech.com/science/fig ... n-the-ring
Scientists are looking toward a class of large viruses called jumbo phages as they develop new and more capable antibiotics. Thanks to their bacteria-heavy "diet," these viruses could be the key to creating antibiotics that knock out deadly infections with a single punch. But first, scientists will need to teach the viruses a secret handshake.
Viruses don't technically eat, but they do consume. Depending on what kind of virus it is, a virion will hijack a specific type of host cell and then steal that cell's energy to feed its own replication process. Many viruses target tissue cells (like the ones that comprise your lung lining or your lymph nodes), but others hunger exclusively for bacteria. These viruses are called bacteriophages.
Researchers have been experimenting with bacteriophages as infection-fighting weapons for nearly a century—before even conventional antibiotics hit their peak. But the average bacteriophage is susceptible to the body's bacterial defenses. To stave off the immune system, scientists must call in the big guns: jumbo phages, or extra-large bacteriophages.
