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Showing posts from September 6, 2026

When Antibiotics Fail: AMR, Cystic Fibrosis and the Potential of Phage Therapy

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Antimicrobial resistance is progressively reducing the effectiveness of drugs on which modern medicine depends. A CNN investigation published on September 9, 2026 examines the consequences through patients affected by severe infections that became increasingly difficult to treat, while also discussing bacteriophage therapy as an experimental strategy for bacterial infections resistant to conventional antibiotics. The global burden is already substantial. According to the World Health Organization, bacterial antimicrobial resistance was associated with more than 4.7 million deaths worldwide in 2021, including approximately 1.14 million deaths directly attributable to resistance. Current modelling projects around 39 million deaths directly attributable to bacterial AMR cumulatively between 2025 and 2050 if current trends continue, rather than 39 million deaths in a single year. Source :  https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/09/asia/health-antibiotics-amr-intl-hnk-dst Resistance develops ...
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Ami Bhatt Links Gut Phages, Hospital Superbugs and Recombinases for In Vivo CAR-T Engineering

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Ami Bhatt’s research at Stanford connects three problems that are usually studied separately: the origin of bloodstream infections in immunocompromised patients, rapid genome evolution in hospital-adapted bacteria, and the use of microbial recombinases to engineer human cells. In a September 2026 episode of Stanford Medicine’s The Future of Medicine , Bhatt described how her group studies microbial communities as evolving genomic systems rather than static lists of bacterial species. The laboratory focuses particularly on mobile genetic elements, including transposable elements and bacteriophages, because these sequences can alter bacterial genomes over clinically relevant timescales. Source of the image :  https://medicine.stanford.edu/news/stories/episodes/ami-bhatt-microbiome-superbugs-cancer-therapy.html One major application is hematopoietic cell transplantation. These patients receive combinations of chemotherapy, immunosuppressive drugs and broad-spectrum antibiotics that c...
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Australia Opens AU$200,000 Phage Therapy Grant for Cystic Fibrosis and Antimicrobial-Resistant Infections

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Key information The Conquer Cystic Fibrosis and McCusker Charitable Foundation WA Phage Therapy Grant 2026 offers up to AU$200,000 over two years . Applications opened 9 September 2026 and close 25 September 2026 at 5:00 pm AWST . The project and Chief Investigator A must be based in Western Australia, although external collaborators may participate. Chief Investigator A must hold a PhD. Applications are submitted to projects@cfa.org.au Learn more and apply here : https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.au/current-grant-opportunities/ A new Australian funding opportunity is putting bacteriophage therapy at the centre of efforts to develop new treatments for chronic and antimicrobial-resistant infections. The Australian Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust, administered by Cystic Fibrosis Australia, has opened applications for the 2026 Conquer Cystic Fibrosis and McCusker Charitable Foundation WA Phage Therapy Grant, offering up to AU$200,000 over two years for phage therapy research based in Wester...
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Most Consulted Articles

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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🌐 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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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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