Viruses called phages hold enormous promise as a way to fight infection, but don’t expect to see them in the clinic soon.
We can debate the similarities between biological and computer “Virus” (which, some believe, more resembles a Bacteria than a virus), but the analogy is, for the most part, correct. Viruses are dangerous to the victims, and they spread quickly through the population until a cure, or a ...
Viruses are encoded by genetic information called RNA, which serves as a blueprint for how they are put together. The “program” contains information on how to replicate and how to infect and attack their host. As scientists, we can learn this genetic code and use it to fight the virus....
Using one disease-causingorganismto fight another has several advantages. Like antibiotics, phages are picky in their choice of target, leaving human cells alone even as they infect and destroy bacterial ones. Unlike antibiotics, phages can evolve just as readily as bacteria can, meaning that even...
Wiley, Deborah Lynne
Many people are in the fight against both seasonal and the H1N1 virus. The weather is cold and rainy. It expedites the spread of viruses. Here are several effective ways to guard against the flu, without the need for a vaccine or buying expensive medicines. Wash Your Hands. Most flu ...
How do antibodies fight pathogens? How did MRSA become antibiotic resistant? How does Mycobacterium tuberculosis enter the body? How do helminths cause disease? How are bacteria unlike viruses, viroids and prions? If the virus can infect human, can the same virus also infect bacteria? Is Yersi...
Improving worldwide collaboration and capacity for preventing, surveillance, and controlling antibiotic resistant bacteria What You Can Do To help fight antibiotic resistance and protect yourself against infection: Don't take antibiotics unless you're certain you need them.An estimated 30% of the millio...
Theimmune systemidentifies these foreign substances (virusesand bacteria), also known asantigens. Once antigens are identified, the immune system develops proteins that circulate in theblood. These proteins are calledantibodies. They fight the infection by killing the antigens. Antibodies are made by...
that was aimed at discovering how bacteria fight viral infections.Bacteria have to deal with viruses in their environment,and we can think about a viral infection like a ticking time bomb--a bacterium has only a few minutes to defuse the bomb before it gets destroyed.So, many bacteria have ...