Phages are viruses that attack bacteria by injecting their DNA, then usurping bacterial machinery to reproduce. Eventually, they make so many copies of themselves that the bacteria burst.

New insights into a "friendly virus" that could pave the way for cutting-edge treatments for the potentially fatal superbug C ...

Like people, bacteria get invaded by viruses. In bacteria, the viral invaders are called bacteriophages, derived from the Greek word for bacteria-eaters, or in shortened form, "phages." Scientists ...

Scientists say they have shed new light on how bacteria protect themselves from certain phage invaders -- by seizing genetic material from weakened, dormant phages and using it to 'vaccinate' ...

Andrea Lius is a freelance science writer. She is working on her PhD in pharmacology at the University of Washington in Seattle. View Full Profile. Learn about our Editorial Policies. “Many of these ...

Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have shed new light on how bacteria protect themselves from certain phage invaders — by seizing genetic material from weakened, dormant phages and using it ...