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Viruses Could Kill Superbugs that Antibiotics Can't

newscientist.com — The trouble with bacteria is that they can evolve to outsmart antibiotics. A VIRUS that gobbles up the bacteria that cause debilitating ear infections could become the next weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Who dugg this? Made popular Apr 23, 2009

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  • fluidfoundation, on 04/23/2009, -0/+75Sounds like the beginning back story to a post-apocalyptic scifi story.
  • gametavern, on 04/23/2009, -0/+37Remember when they invented a virus that could eliminate cancer and everyone later turned into a vampire which Will Smith had to kill? Bad news.
  • inactive, on 04/23/2009, -0/+36Yeah I saw that episode of fresh prince too
  • BIGHED, on 04/23/2009, -0/+29So this is how zombies start. It's a trick, get an axe
  • Exhibitionist, on 04/23/2009, -0/+28The Russians have been using phage therapy to save money on antibiotics for decades...
  • jgram, on 04/23/2009, -1/+29...I don't know why she swallowed the fly, perhaps she'll die...
  • MJPana, on 04/23/2009, -1/+28I am Legend anyone?
  • Kronich, on 04/23/2009, -2/+27Doctor to Family and Friends: "Yes we killed the superbug - but - I'm sorry - the virus is deadly"
  • iDoraemon, on 04/23/2009, -1/+21Next year's headline:

    Superbugs Could Kill Viruses that Viral Treatments Can't
  • RUBallsingMe, on 04/23/2009, -0/+20did will smith teach us nothing?
  • Verytastycheese, on 04/23/2009, -0/+19What could possibly go wrong?
  • gcnaddict, on 04/23/2009, -1/+16Here's a better idea:
    Wait til we can code *non*-self-replicating nanomachines and have them kill the bacteria manually instead of using viruses.

    Viruses replicate and can evolve. Nanomachines which don't replicate... well, they simply can't evolve. Should the bacteria evolve to evade the nanomachines, just code new ones.
  • diggB, on 04/23/2009, -0/+14And then 28 days later ...
  • Fallout911, on 04/23/2009, -0/+13But Uroboros is such a tricky virus....
  • sHockz, on 04/23/2009, -0/+10there was an old lady who swallowed a horse.....shes dead of course.
  • trentshipp, on 04/23/2009, -5/+15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
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  • fluidfoundation, on 04/23/2009, -1/+10I learned that parents just don't understand.
  • inactive, on 04/23/2009, -0/+9This reminds me of the time Australia introduced cane toads to kill the insects infesting their sugar cane plantations. I don't live within 500km of a sugar cane plantation, but guess what I just stood on with bare feet half an hour ago when I walked into my backyard for a smoke?
  • gametavern, on 04/23/2009, -0/+8That's probably the best way to explain it.
  • serif69, on 04/23/2009, -0/+8I WAS SAVING THAT BACON
  • navanclark, on 04/23/2009, -0/+8No worries man, the chances that a bacteriophage virus could do anything to a human are next to zero.
  • slifty, on 04/23/2009, -1/+8Is anyone maintaining a zombie doomsday clock? Because this is the kind of story that would move it to 3 minutes to midnight.
  • awtripp, on 04/23/2009, -0/+7Just look at Montgomery Burns. His body is in perfect harmony with every disease and virus known to man.
  • Tanktunker, on 04/23/2009, -0/+7There's no permanent solution, so we might as well give up, huh?
  • ivansusanin, on 04/23/2009, -2/+8***** off
  • Kazimieras, on 04/23/2009, -1/+7Yes...

    Until the virus itself mutates or becomes incorporated with the bacteria and then we have a super super bug. And this isn't a question of IF... it is WHEN.
  • anexanhume, on 04/23/2009, -0/+5Jello?
    Newsweek magazine?
    A copy of this photo? http://farm1.static.flickr.com/1/2282916_9f6fa2e79 ...
  • anexanhume, on 04/23/2009, -1/+6Let's beat her then. 2 for 1.
  • swordedge, on 04/23/2009, -0/+5Phages can out breed and out adapt any bacteria and the ones they want to use on us has no interest in us.
  • swordedge, on 04/23/2009, -0/+5WE were heavily studying phages till the 1940's or so when they found a way to make antibiotics.
  • Frankttank, on 04/23/2009, -1/+6virus vs. bacteria... CAGE MATCH!
  • TerekKincaid, on 04/23/2009, -0/+4Well, that's because the bacteriophage you were using had their genome pulled out and your insert stuck in; they were certainly replication deficient. Wild-type bacteriophage would replicate to high titer in the presence of an infection, then disappear as the number of hosts declined. A nice self-regulating dose... if you can keep your body from attacking it (or from causing a fatal reaction in some people).
  • TheUngod, on 04/23/2009, -0/+4and the parasite comes from out of nowhere with a steel chair!
  • docbob84, on 04/23/2009, -0/+4@Kypt: it shouldn't ever. I don't know how to explain it other than to say our cell surface markers are different enough from bacteria that it would be like a bacterium evolving into an elephant in one generation. There shouldn't be any cross-reactivity between bacteriophages and human cells. They are actually in our body already, attacking the gut bacteria we need to live. If they could somehow attack us, they would have evolved and have done so long ago.
  • rossisdead, on 04/23/2009, -1/+5Comment about I Am Legend.
  • Eshestun, on 04/23/2009, -0/+4These are phages and they have been around for about 50-60 years.

    Buried.
  • DangerCollie, on 04/23/2009, -0/+4Back in my lab days we'd use phages to insert plasmids and DNA into bacteria all the time. Even back then I always wondered about that technique.

    I'm telling you, the Rage virus or something similar is going to come out of promising research just like this. Bacteria are sort of DNA sluts to begin with. So natural selection is scary enough without deliberately shoveling new segments of DNA/RNA into microbes. It's probably perfectly safe, but the problem is the time you find out it's a really bad idea is when the first 10 million people die.
  • jsuther, on 04/23/2009, -2/+5Go for it, I'll be packing up my zombie survival kit in the mean time.
  • chuckDontSurf, on 04/23/2009, -0/+3dog *****?
  • Kronich, on 04/23/2009, -0/+3very good
  • Peko, on 04/23/2009, -1/+4Damn you Madagascar!
  • inactive, on 04/23/2009, -2/+5Uh Oh, here we go, has any one seen "I Am Legend"?
  • inactive, on 04/23/2009, -0/+3oh we can only hope. my mouth is drooling at the thought of zombies
  • mogebier, on 04/23/2009, -1/+4I hereby welcome out new Virus overlords.... until they kill me.
  • Kypt, on 04/23/2009, -1/+4yet
  • t3rmv3locity, on 04/23/2009, -1/+4The next generation of antibiotics will probably attack the mechanism that bacteria use to communicate. Apparently, all bacteria have two chemicals which they produce: one which is unique to the strain, and one which is common to ALL bacteria. As the relative levels of chemicals build, the bacteria is able to judge the relative level of 'self' and 'other' bacteria in the surrounding environment. Antibiotics could either 'jam' the self receptor and make the bacteria think it is alone, or flood the 'other' receptor and make it think it is outnumbered.

    Here is the TED talk:
    http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/bonnie_bassler_ ...
  • whatever01, on 04/23/2009, -0/+3Playing Halo in your mom's basement isn't plotting tactics in your underground bunker.
  • atgmac, on 04/23/2009, -0/+3Yeah why use technology we've had for decades when we could spend billions on technology we won't have for 50 years.

    /s
  • i4mt3hwin, on 04/23/2009, -1/+4You obviously haven't read Prey.
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