Eli5 what are phages (the medical alternative to antibiotics) and how do they work?

Question

Eli5 what are phages (the medical alternative to antibiotics) and how do they work?

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Answer 1

Phages, or bacteriophages (“bacteria eaters”), are viruses that attack bacteria. They tend to be very specific about what they infect, so you can send them into the body and they will only take out the thing you want them to kill. Antibiotic resistance doesn’t help bacteria against phages, and sometimes the genetic mutations that let them resist our drugs will cause them to be even weaker to phages, which is why phage therapy can be great for drug-resistant bacteria.