Bacteriophages – video
A war has been raging for billions of years, killing trillions every single day, while we don’t even notice. This war involves the single deadliest being on our planet: The Bacteriophage.
This article earlier appeared in the “Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell” YouTube channel
References are available bellow.
Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are viruses that infect bacteria. They are composed of a nucleic acid molecule, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat. Bacteriophages are found in almost all environments on Earth where bacteria exist and are the most abundant type of virus on the planet.
Bacteriophages reproduce by infecting a bacterial cell and using the cell’s machinery to replicate their own genetic material and synthesize new virus particles. When the new phages are ready, they are released from the bacterial cell, often causing the cell to lyse or burst.
Bacteriophages are important because they can be used to control bacterial infections in humans, animals, and plants. In addition, they have been used in research to study genetics and the interactions between viruses and host cells.
Pros and cons of using bacteriophages
