TechnologyAugust 8, 2026
bacteriophage
bak-TEER-ee-uh-fayj
Definition
A type of virus that specifically infects and kills bacterial cells.
Etymology
The word is derived from the Greek word 'bakterion' (meaning small staff or rod) and 'phagein' (meaning to eat), reflecting the organism's role as a biological agent that consumes bacteria.
In the news
In this article, scientists used artificial intelligence to design new bacteriophages capable of killing bacteria that had developed resistance to naturally occurring viruses. This breakthrough demonstrates how synthetic biology can be used to combat drug-resistant infections.
Scientists used Artificial Intelligence to create synthetic virus
Read the full article ↗WBTW