Teenager recovers from near death in world-first GM virus treatment

[Pacifist]

Teenager recovers from near death in world-first GM virus treatment

[Erkor]

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't this essentially bacteriophage treatment?

either way im glad it's making progress because it could spell an actual end for things like diseases immune to antibiotics

[Clovis]

Not essentially - that's exactly what it is. I didn't actually realise this was the first time they were used, but it's a really cool development, and just in the right time, as antibiotic resistance is only increasing.

[polyhistor]

Not the first time.

The Soviet Union invested in phages as an alternative to antibiotics during the Cold War. The practice continues in Russia and many other former Eastern Bloc countries.

Regardless, it's amazing to see the treatment finally gain traction in the west.

[Gay4Grandad]

Here's the article if anyone's interested.

[Sableye]

I think the soviet approach wasn't without some drawbacks. they couldn't target bacteria so they would load up the patient with a whole bunch of phages and you had to more or less guess what worked and make up a cocktail for each specific patient something not very easy to do back then.

[carcarcargo]

It's not a silver bullet but it's definitely a decent alternative for tackling antibiotic resistant bacteria.

[F.X Clampazzo]

Not the first time at all. AmpliPhi biosciences for example is in the clinical stages with their phage research.

[Erfly]

Linking to sci-hub, you cheeky dog