Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
Something Old Becomes Something New
964 Something Old Becomes Something New
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr Norbert Herzog.
And I’m Dr. David Niesel
Norbert, you’ve heard how after much agonizing, I decided to major in biology after I took a course in microbiology.
You know, I had the same experience!
I learned a ton and it’s also when I discovered bacteriophages. I couldn’t believe some viruses lived off of killing bacteria.
Bacteriophage or “phage” were first identified in the early nineteen hundreds but because of their small size were not visualized until electron microscopy became available in the nineteen-forties.
Early researchers noticed how quickly phage could clear out bacteria, so before antibiotics were developed in the forties, researchers studied whether phage could cure bacterial infections.
Now that bacteria are developing resistance to our arsenal of antibiotics, researchers are turning again to phages.
Phages may be ideal since they target the specific bacteria they infect. Antibiotics can be indiscriminate, killing harmful bacteria and those beneficial to our health.
Phages can also be genetically altered to become more efficient killers. It’s already used in cystic fibrosis patients with multi-drug-resistant lung infections.
And in India, it’s being tested on a devastating intestinal pathogen, Vibrio cholerae. With no new antimicrobial medicines being developed, phage therapy is worth pursuing even if they have some big hurdles to clear.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.comor subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com
