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Unlikely allies
In order to fight against super-microbes (bacteria that have evolved to survive even the most powerful antibiotics), doctors have started to hack viruses to hunt and kill dangerous strains.
Scientists have been trying to use CRISPR gene editing tools to modify viruses to eliminate dangerous bacteria and ignore healthy intestinal bacteria for several years. But now, a company called Locus Biosciences is telling NPR that he has developed a mixture of three viruses published by CRISPR that can infect and kill dangerous bacteria, such as a "living antibiotic" – a promising new weapon in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
Self-destruction
The mixture of viruses hacked by genes can infiltrate bacterial cells and reprogram their DNA, ordering the immune system of the bacteria to destroy the entire cell.
"If we succeed, it will revolutionize the treatment of infections," said Michael Priebe, a doctor who also works on viruses published by CRISPR. NPR. "It can change the game to get us out of this arms race with resistant bacteria and allow us to use a totally different mechanism to fight the pathogenic bacteria that infect us."
READ MORE: Scientists modify viruses with CRISPR to create a new weapon against super-insects[[[[NPR]
More about antibiotic resistance: Sneaky bacteria can exchange genes and immunize against antibiotics
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