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"Before penicillin became the medical world's darling, crusading doctors crisscrossed the globe armed with bacteriophages, bacteria killing viruses that, when administered to diseased patients via injection or potion, could be powerful healers" U.S. News and World Report; Return of a killer -Phages may once again fight tough bacterial infections; November 2, 1998 Bacteriophage Definition. Simply stated, phages are viruses
that infect bacteria. Like all viruses, phages are metabolically inert in
their extracellular form and reproduce by
insinuating themselves into the metabolism of the host bacteria. The viral
DNA is then injected into the host cell, where it directs the production of
progeny phages. These phages burst from the host cell, killing it and then
infecting more bacteria. There are innumerable types of phages, each capable
of eradicating its host bacterial species. They are abundant in the biosphere
and it is important to note that phages only attack bacteria and have not
been found to have adverse effects on humans or other animals. Bacteriophages were
discovered over 80 years ago, independently by both French and English
scientists. It was quickly realized that phages had the potential to kill the
bacteria that caused many infectious diseases in humans, as well as in plants
and animals. An institute for the study and production of phages was founded
in the mid 1930s in the |