Phage Against the Machine
If you thought food poisoning was just a matter of the occasional stomach upset from a dodgy shrimp or two, the CDC has some unsettling numbers for you: foodborne bacteria is responsible for at least 48 million cases of illness, more than 130,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths a year in the U.S. alone. And those numbers aren't going down. But wait: a new fighter has entered the ring! Say hello to the bacteriophage, a small-but-mighty bacteria-busting virus that can wipe out entire colonies of harmful pathogens\u2014and that is starting to be sprayed on packages of cold cuts near you. While most Americans haven\u2019t heard of phages (as they\u2019re commonly called), they\u2019ve been saving lives in the former Soviet Union for decades now. So why has it taken so long for the U.S. to get on board? How do these teeny-tiny bacteria fighters work, and what\u2019s their connection to Elizabeth Taylor and chlorinated chicken? Should we\u2014and could we\u2014get our food systems on the phage train?\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices