Phages are ubiquitous particles that infect bacteria and archaea in all environments. In addition to lysing bacteria, phages ...

In the human gut, trillions of bacteria and their viral predators-phages-are locked in an ancient arms race. Bacteria deploy CRISPR-Cas immune systems to snip phage DNA, while phages counter with anti ...

Bacteria have evolved sophisticated antiphage systems that halt phage replication upon detecting specific phage triggers. Identifying phage triggers is crucial to our understanding of immune ...

An unexpected find has enabled important progress to be made in the battle against harmful bacteria. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Peter Fineran from the University of Otago, ...

The genomes of phages—viruses that infect bacteria—are largely composed of "dark matter": genes that encode proteins whose functions remain unknown. Less than four years ago, a team led by Prof. Rotem ...

A single protein bolted to the inner membrane of a bacterial cell can shred a virus’s DNA before that genetic material ever ...

Bacterial infections pose significant challenges to agriculture and medicine, especially as cases of antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to rise. In response, scientists are elucidating the ways ...

One of the many secrets to bacteria's success is their ability to defend themselves from viruses, called phages, that infect bacteria and use their cellular machinery to make copies of themselves.

Because CRISPR news tends to focus on the applications of genome editing—such as treating genetic diseases or improving food—it may be easy to forget that the system is, at its core, used by bacteria ...

What if the Trojan horse had been pulled to pieces, revealing the ruse and fending off the invasion, just as it entered the ...