Scientific Article for Students

Abstract

Have you ever heard of bacteriophages? They are tiny viruses that can infect and kill bacteria, including the harmful bacteria that make us sick! Scientists discovered bacteriophages (phages) over a century ago. And they are actually all around us! Researchers have found phages in sewage, soil, and even in our bodies. What if we used this natural enemy of bacteria to our advantage? Can phages protect us against bacterial diseases? Researchers have used phages to treat disease in the past. But were they successful? We reviewed clinical reports of phage therapy for the last 15 years. Our research showed that phages can be quite helpful and phage therapy was successful against bacterial infections. This is really important, because antibiotic resistance has become a major threat to our health.

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About this Article

Reading Level
Scientific Topic
Key Words
NGSS Standards
AP Environmental Science Topics
IB Biology Topics
Scientific Methods
Type of Figure
Location of Research
Scientist Affiliation
Included Resources
+ Audio version of article + Article translated into Arabic, Bulgarian and Spanish + Interview with the researcher
Publication Date
April 2021
Researchers reviewed scientific articles and case reports to evaluate phage therapy as an alternative to antibiotics and found this can be beneficial for patients.
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