Antibiotic resistance is racing toward a global crisis, with “superbugs” projected to cause over 10 million deaths annually by 2050. Now, scientists at UC San Diego have unveiled a powerful new CRISPR ...

Bacteria get invaded by viruses called phages. Scientists are studying how bacteria use CRISPR to defend themselves from phages, which will inform new phage-based treatments for bacterial infections ...

Bacteria combat phage infection using antiphage systems and many systems generate nucleotide-derived second messengers upon infection that activate effector proteins to mediate immunity. Phages ...

Cat1 monomers seen here in shades of pink and purple, while cA4 glueing the dimers to extend the filament are in orange. Every living creature on Earth needs to protect itself from things that would ...

Phage therapy is an emerging strategy that uses viruses that target bacteria to restore gut balance and treat microbiome-related diseases. Ongoing research and early trials show promise, but ...

In nature, the best-known CRISPR system, CRISPR-Cas9, cuts any RNA or DNA it recognizes as foreign, and thereby protects bacteria from viral attacks. Another CRISPR system, one that is relatively ...

Jumbo phages belong to a group of viruses that attack bacteria. They inject their DNA and then reproduce by taking over the cell’s DNA-copying machinery. Eventually, a phage makes so many copies of ...