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Showing posts from August 16, 2026

T7 Phage Uses a Hyperpromiscuous Kinase to Break Through Bacterial Immunity

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Bacteriophages and bacteria are locked in one of biology’s oldest evolutionary conflicts. Bacteria continually acquire new immune systems capable of detecting, blocking or destroying invading viruses, while phages evolve countermeasures that allow them to regain access to their hosts. A new study published in Nature has now revealed an unusually aggressive strategy used by bacteriophage T7: rather than precisely disabling one bacterial defence at a time, the virus releases a kinase capable of modifying an extraordinary fraction of the proteins inside the infected cell. Illustration depicting how T7 kinase, a phage enzyme, modifies many proteins inside an infected bacterium, helping shut down its defence mechanisms. Credit: Daniela Velasco/EMBL The work, led by researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and collaborators, identifies the T7 protein kinase T7K, also known as gp0.7, as a remarkably broad anti-defence weapon. T7K has been known since the 1970s ...
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Bacteriophages Disarm Inflammation-Associated E. coli Without Erasing the Gut Microbiome in IBD

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Inflammatory bowel disease is usually described through the language of immune dysregulation, chronic inflammation and genetic susceptibility. Yet an increasingly important part of the disease may lie in a more dynamic layer of biology: not simply which microorganisms inhabit the intestine, but what particular bacterial populations are doing inside it. A new study from McMaster University pushes this idea toward a striking therapeutic possibility. Instead of broadly eliminating bacteria associated with disease, bacteriophages may be used to selectively suppress the bacterial traits that help drive inflammation. McMaster researchers, from left, Kyle Jackson, Zeinab Hosseinidoust and Elena Verdu, have found a way to disarm harmful gut bacteria using precision viruses, opening the door to more personalized treatments for inflammatory bowel disease. (Georgia Kirkos, McMaster University) The work, published in Science Translational Medicine and highlighted on the journal’s cover, emerged...
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History Part 12 : Post-War Stagnation and Phage Therapy’s Marginalization in the West (1945–1980s)

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Post-War Stagnation and Phage Therapy’s Marginalization in the West (1945–1980s) The period following World War II marked a decisive turning point in the trajectory of phage therapy in Western medicine. Despite the promising results bacteriophages had demonstrated prior to the war as potential antibacterial agents, the decades after 1945 saw a dramatic decline in interest, funding, and scientific engagement with phage therapy in the United States and much of Western Europe. This marginalization can be attributed to a confluence of scientific, sociopolitical, and economic factors that reshaped the landscape of infectious disease treatment and research. Artistic View One of the key contributors to this decline was the overwhelming optimism surrounding the newly discovered class of antibiotics. The post-war pharmaceutical revolution brought forward a series of broad-spectrum antibiotics such as streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol, which were viewed as miracle drugs capable o...
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The Phage Therapy in the spotlight !

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Bacteriophages: Ancient Predators and the Next Frontier in Medicine In the animated documentary The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth , the Kurzgesagt team delves into the world of bacteriophages—viruses that prey exclusively on bacteria. With vibrant visuals and precise narration, the video introduces viewers to an invisible ecosystem where microscopic hunters orchestrate life-and-death dramas that shape the biosphere. These entities, though virtually unknown to the general public, may soon become central to the future of medicine. At the heart of the video lies a paradox: bacteriophages (or "phages") are among the most abundant biological entities on Earth—outnumbering all other organisms combined—yet their therapeutic potential has been largely sidelined in the antibiotic era. The video outlines the historical trajectory of phage research, spotlighting Félix d’Hérelle’s early 20th-century work and the rise of phage therapy, only to show how it was later eclipsed by the dis...
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Groundbreaking achievement : Phagos raises €25m to end bacterial disease

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 Phagos raises €25m to end bacterial disease  The company holds the first authorization to market personalized veterinary phage-based treatments on EU soil  ● Founded in 2021, Phagos is ushering in a new era in the fight against bacterial disease with bacteriophages, a powerful alternative to antibiotics. Thanks to an unprecedented regulatory breakthrough and a discovery platform combining microbiology and AI, Phagos offers the first phage-based drugs for veterinary use, a market worth tens of billions of dollars. The company plans to expand further as phage therapy becomes accepted in human health.                              ● The funding round was co-led by CapAgro, Hoxton Ventures, CapHorn, and Demeter alongside Acurio Ventures, Citizen Capital, Entrepreneur First, Founders Capital, and Station F.  ● Objectives: deploy veterinary treatments in the field, develop the next generation of pat...
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🌐 PhageAtLabs® — a global interactive mapping of academic laboratories in phage research.

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🌐 PhageAtLabs® — a global interactive mapping of academic laboratories in phage research. Take part in the project here: https://lnkd.in/e-csNChu   Support the project here: https://ko-fi.com/thephagetherapy PhageAtLabs® is currently under active development by The Phage Therapy team, with the aim of launching the platform this summer. At this stage, we are actively collecting information to ensure the platform is as complete and accurate as possible. For this reason, we kindly encourage you to share this form as widely as possible with laboratories, research groups, and colleagues working on bacteriophages that you know. This initiative is dedicated to building an interactive global map of academic laboratories and research groups working on bacteriophages. The goal is to create a structured and continuously updated database that brings together universities, institutes, and research teams involved in phage science worldwide. While similar initiatives exist in the broader ecosy...
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