These Entities Aren't Alive or Dead - Popular Mechanics

Phage-based therapeutics offer a promising method to fight antibiotic-resistance bacteria, but engineering phages can be difficult. Popular Mechanics Contributing Editor Darren Orf highlights a new study by NEB and Yale University scientists that shows a way to create fully synthetic phages that can be fine-tuned.

Building upon one-pot High-Complexity Golden Gate Assembly (HC-GGA)

Bacteriophage engineering has traditionally been labor-intensive. Using HC-GGA, researchers developed a Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage from 28 synthetic fragments. This allows for more control of the mutations in the fragments, and for DNA insertions and deletions to control phage behavior.

This paper acted as the finale to a three-part series of publications. Orf notes that this development could potentially save thousands, or even millions, of lives, as estimates project that nearly 40 million people could die from antimicrobial resistant organisms.

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