Researchers Develop Synthetic, Bacteria-Killing Virus

January 25, 2018

(UPI) – Researchers at University College London on Wednesday announced they have developed a laboratory-built virus that kills unwanted bacteria on contact. The breakthrough, detailed in a study published in the journal Nature Communications, comes from researchers at UCL, as well as Britain’s National Physical Laboratory. They created a synthetic hollow shell 20 nanometers wide, or less than 0.0000008 inch, which emulates naturally occurring viruses. The artificial viruses recognize and then destroy the membranes of bacteria.