Phages are viruses that attack bacteria. People have been using phages to treat infections for over a hundred years, but in most cases they just don't work as well as antibiotics.
Paul Garofolo is the co-founder and CEO of Locus Biosciences. His problem is this: How do you genetically engineer phages to be more effective at curing disease?
In this episode, Paul explains:
- Why wild phages never completely wipe out a bacterial infection
- How to engineer phages with CRISPR to kill bacteria more effectively
- The clinical trial testing phage therapy for chronic, recurrent UTIs
- Why persistent bacteria may contribute to autoimmune conditions like Crohn's disease
- How to use robots and AI to create phage cocktails from wastewater
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