ABOUT PhagED

The world is currently facing a future where antibiotics no longer work and basic infections cannot be treated. Many of the most dangerous diseases which are not treatable arise from the hospital environment. This is because the bacteria have had lots of exposure to antibiotics, allowing them time to evolve genes which can help them survive in the presence of these drugs. We therefore want to tackle this problem of the 'super bugs' found in our hospitals, otherwise known as the ESKAPE pathogens.

We will do this by developing a spray which will contain modified phages. When that phage enters the cell, CRISPR-Cas system will cut up the genes which are giving the bacteria resistance to antibiotics. We then add another phage to ensure this system is maintainable.

By using this spray, we hope to re-sensitise these dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria to the drugs again, allowing conventional antiobiotics to work. This would mean we would no longer need to develop costly new antibiotics, and avoid the coming doom of a world where a UTI is a death sentence. Neat eh?!