Reinventing the fight against bacteria, one phage at a time.

PAS: The Fast PASS to The Future “ Two Can Play at That Game” by Ellie Jameson In recent years, antibiotic resistant bacteria, also referred to as “superbugs,” have become a major threat, adapting to withstand widely used antibiotic treatment. The fast reproduction of bacteria has brought constant mutations, with some mutations making stronger bacteria that survive and reproduce themselves. Ultimately this natural selection leads to bacteria that are strong enough to survive most antibiotics we have to offer. Bacterial evolution has caught up to human ingenuity and threatens to surpass it. These superbugs threaten to kill up to 10 million people per year by 2050, but antibiotics remain too valuable a resource to entirely replace. The only remaining option is to adapt with the times and develop evolving weaponry and treatment, harnessing man and nature to beat our old enemy. Bacteriophages are to a bacterium as a tiger is to a lamb. As the natural predator of bacteria, bacte...

Bacteriophage and bacteria strains blast off to space with NASA-SpaceX Crew 11 mission The NASA-SpaceX Crew 11 will study the effects of microgravity on disease-causing bacteria and bacteria-killing viruses. Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, Jaxa astronaut Kimiya Yui, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at the Kennedy Space Center for Space Launch Complex 39A July 31, 2025 in Cape Canaveral, Florida .( Getty Images via AFP) SpaceX has just launched its Crew-11 mission into space, and along with it, a 'secret' member: disease-causing bacteria. Or, at least, such bacteria will be growing aboard the ISS very soon. The crew will study the effects of microgravity on bacteria-killing viruses. According to Space.com, the bacterial strains involved in the study are E. coli, Salmonella bongori, and Salmonella typhimurium. They will be studied by NASA's Crew-11 mission, which successfull...

  Multidrug-resistant germs The weapons available for fighting dangerous bacteria are losing their edge, and life-threatening infections are increasingly resistant to treatment. There are hardly any substitutes available so far, making it high time someone took action. © Jonas Ratermann © Jonas Ratermann Multidrug-resistant germs The weapons available for fighting dangerous bacteria are losing their edge, and life-threatening infections are increasingly resistant to treatment. There are hardly any substitutes available so far, making it high time someone took action. © Jonas Ratermann © Jonas Ratermann Multidrug-resistant germs The weapons available for fighting dangerous bacteria are losing their edge, and life-threatening infections are increasingly resistant to treatment. There are hardly any substitutes available so far, making it high time someone took action. © Jonas Ratermann Homepage Research Multidrug-resistant germs Multidrug-resistant germs Web special Fraunhofer magazin...

  2025 Phage Therapy Workshop – Free Event November 25th, 2025 at the Spine Building in Liverpool Rising levels of antimicrobial resistance threaten healthcare systems and economies worldwide. Phage therapy has proven to be an effective last-resort treatment against multidrug resistant bacterial infections, but faces multiple barriers to its widespread use. Join our inter-disciplinary panel of speakers to discuss the advances, challenges, and next generation of phage therapy across the globe. This workshop is led by our scientific committee:  Stineke van Houte ,  Jo Fothergill ,  Edze Westra , and  Mike Brockhurst . Registration Click here to register with our Eventbrite page!  As places are limited, kindly inform the organizers if you will be unable to attend. For any questions, please e-mail  H.E.Westlake@exeter.ac.uk Programme SESSION 1: Phage therapy across the globe 9.00-9.30    Jean-Paul Pirnay, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium 9...