Latest news with #Southampton
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
I found a bacteria-eating virus in my loo - could it save your life?
I'm on the hunt for a microbial saviour – a type of virus that can treat infections rather than cause them. We all know the viral bad guys – Covid, flu, norovirus, herpes, chicken pox, measles… the list goes on. But there's a type of virus that's not interested in infiltrating our bodies, instead it preys on bacteria. They're known as bacteria eaters, or bacteriophage, or commonly as phage. Capturing them could give us new ways of treating infections, including superbugs that are becoming incurable. So, how to catch a killer? I've been promised it's surprisingly easy. The team at the Phage Collection Project sent me some vials to collect samples, along with a pair of gloves. All I need to do is hunt for some dirty water, the dirtier the better, dip the vials in and screw on the lid. I tried a couple of ponds, the juice from a worm-composting bin and then I needed my dirtiest sample. I didn't flush the toilet after a poo and left it for a couple of hours. I pop on a glove and hold my breath as I go in for the final sample. Strict hygiene instructions, including vigorous hand-washing, were followed, at all times. The vials were packaged up for collection and then three days later I headed off to the University of Southampton to see what was inside. "They were a bit dirty when I received them," phage scientist Michelle Lin tells me as we don our blue lab-coats and matching gloves to go into the Containment Level 2 microbiology laboratory. We grab my samples from the fridge, which look much clearer now they have been filtered of any… debris. "It's fine, it's needed," Michelle, who had the unpleasant job, reassures me. Filtering is the first step in looking for phage, next they get served dinner – a cocktail of yummy bacteria - to help them grow in number. Now comes the really cool bit – finding a useful phage. The scientists have been working with the local hospital to collect bacteria from patients with troublesome infections. Michelle grabs a petri dish that's growing bacteria from a patient with a painful, urinary tract infection that keeps coming back. And to my amazement – one of the phage I collected from my toilet was able to kill this infection in the lab. "The way to see that the phage has infected bacteria is you get these zones where the bacteria are not growing and that's because they've been killed by the phage," says Michelle. You can see the leopard print pattern in the petri dish where the phage have been making light work of a bacterial infection that modern medicine was struggling to shift. "As crazy as it sounds, well done to the toilet sample," says Michelle with great delight. And when I was offered the chance to name the phage, well of course it's the Gallagher-phage. "Sounds amazing to me," says Michelle. So far this is all good fun in the laboratory, but could my phage ever be given to a patient? "Yes and I hope so," says associate professor Dr Franklin Nobrega as we look at images of my phage captured with an electron microscope. "Your phage, already in just 24 hours, we were able to get in a high concentration and able to be a very good killer, which means this is very promising for patients, so thank you," said Dr Nobrega. Phage remind me of a moon lander – a big capsule on spindly legs – just instead of landing on the surface of the moon they use their legs to select their victim. They then hijack the bacteria and transform it into a mass-production factory for more phage, which burst out of their host, killing it in the process. There are pros and cons to phage. They reproduce as they go along so you don't need constant doses like you would with drugs. They are also very picky eaters. You need a precise match between phage and the strain of bacteria you're trying to treat whereas antibiotics tend to kill everything good and bad. So it is harder to find the right phage, but if you do it comes with fewer side effects. Dr Nobrega tells me infected wounds are a "very good application" for phage because you can apply them directly to the injury, but they can also be inhaled via a nebuliser to treat lung infections or to target urinary tract infections "which is our target currently". Phage science may sound new and exciting, but it is actually a century old idea stemming from the discoveries of Felix d'Hérelle and Frederick Twort in the 1910s. Bacteriophage therapy was a branch of medicine and the idea was compelling. Even as late as the 1940s there was an active pharmaceutical industry in western countries trying to produce phage-therapy to defeat bacterial infections. However, it was rapidly eclipsed by the wonder-drug of the 20th century. "Antibiotics were working so well that most people said 'why bother'," says Dr Nobrega. Work on phage therapy continued in places like Georgia and there are individual accounts of it working wonders; but there hasn't been the same depth of medical research and clinical trials as there have for drugs. But just as the initial success of antibiotics suppressed phage research, the failure of antibiotics is reigniting excitement at their potential. More than a million people a year are already dying from infections caused by microbes that are resistant to treatment – it's known as the "silent pandemic". By 2050, that figure is projected to reach 10 million a year. This "antibiotic apocalypse" would mean common infections could kill again and undermine modern medicine. The drugs are also used to make organ transplants, open surgery and chemotherapy possible. "The predictions around antibiotic resistance are very frightening, but the reality is we're seeing it now and it's only going to get worse," says Prof Paul Elkington, the director of the institute for medical innovation at the University of Southampton. He is also a doctor with a speciality in lung medicine and is already at the point where - after a year of treatment and turning to ever more toxic and less effective antibiotics - "in the end you have to have a conversation [and say] 'we can't treat this infection, we're really sorry'". He says we can't rely solely on antibiotics in the future and phage are a potential alternative. But he warns the steps needed to get from the laboratory and into patients are "uncharted". Things are changing. Phage therapy is available in the UK on compassionate grounds when other treatments have failed. And the drugs regulator – The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency – has published its first official rules to support the development of phage therapy. "If one looks 15-20 years into the future, with the emerging methodologies, it's going to be possible for them to be much more widely available and for doctors to prescribe phage instead of antibiotics for some infections," says Prof Elkington. If you want to see if you can find a friendly virus too then The Phage Collection Project are launching their new sampling kits at the Summer Science Exhibition taking place this week at the Royal Society and through their website. "Antimicrobial resistance is something that could affect all of us," says Esme Brinsden from the Phage Collection Project, "when the public get involved they may just find the next phage that can help treat and save a patient's life". Photography by the BBC's Emma Lynch
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Phage therapy: I found a bacteria-eating virus in my loo
I'm on the hunt for a microbial saviour – a type of virus that can treat infections rather than cause all know the viral bad guys – Covid, flu, norovirus, herpes, chicken pox, measles… the list goes there's a type of virus that's not interested in infiltrating our bodies, instead it preys on known as bacteria eaters, or bacteriophage, or commonly as them could give us new ways of treating infections, including superbugs that are becoming how to catch a killer?I've been promised it's surprisingly easy. The team at the Phage Collection Project sent me some vials to collect samples, along with a pair of gloves. All I need to do is hunt for some dirty water, the dirtier the better, dip the vials in and screw on the lid. I tried a couple of ponds, the juice from a worm-composting bin and then I needed my dirtiest sample. I didn't flush the toilet after a poo and left it for a couple of hours. I pop on a glove and hold my breath as I go in for the final sample. Strict hygiene instructions, including vigorous hand-washing, were followed, at all vials were packaged up for collection and then three days later I headed off to the University of Southampton to see what was inside."They were a bit dirty when I received them," phage scientist Michelle Lin tells me as we don our blue lab-coats and matching gloves to go into the Containment Level 2 microbiology grab my samples from the fridge, which look much clearer now they have been filtered of any… debris. "It's fine, it's needed," Michelle, who had the unpleasant job, reassures me. Filtering is the first step in looking for phage, next they get served dinner – a cocktail of yummy bacteria - to help them grow in comes the really cool bit – finding a useful phage. The scientists have been working with the local hospital to collect bacteria from patients with troublesome grabs a petri dish that's growing bacteria from a patient with a painful, urinary tract infection that keeps coming to my amazement – one of the phage I collected from my toilet was able to kill this infection in the lab."The way to see that the phage has infected bacteria is you get these zones where the bacteria are not growing and that's because they've been killed by the phage," says Michelle. You can see the leopard print pattern in the petri dish where the phage have been making light work of a bacterial infection that modern medicine was struggling to shift."As crazy as it sounds, well done to the toilet sample," says Michelle with great when I was offered the chance to name the phage, well of course it's the Gallagher-phage."Sounds amazing to me," says far this is all good fun in the laboratory, but could my phage ever be given to a patient?"Yes and I hope so," says associate professor Dr Franklin Nobrega as we look at images of my phage captured with an electron microscope. "Your phage, already in just 24 hours, we were able to get in a high concentration and able to be a very good killer, which means this is very promising for patients, so thank you," said Dr remind me of a moon lander – a big capsule on spindly legs – just instead of landing on the surface of the moon they use their legs to select their then hijack the bacteria and transform it into a mass-production factory for more phage, which burst out of their host, killing it in the process. There are pros and cons to phage. They reproduce as they go along so you don't need constant doses like you would with are also very picky eaters. You need a precise match between phage and the strain of bacteria you're trying to treat whereas antibiotics tend to kill everything good and bad. So it is harder to find the right phage, but if you do it comes with fewer side Nobrega tells me infected wounds are a "very good application" for phage because you can apply them directly to the injury, but they can also be inhaled via a nebuliser to treat lung infections or to target urinary tract infections "which is our target currently". Phage - the friendly virus Phage science may sound new and exciting, but it is actually a century old idea stemming from the discoveries of Felix d'Hérelle and Frederick Twort in the therapy was a branch of medicine and the idea was compelling. Even as late as the 1940s there was an active pharmaceutical industry in western countries trying to produce phage-therapy to defeat bacterial it was rapidly eclipsed by the wonder-drug of the 20th century."Antibiotics were working so well that most people said 'why bother'," says Dr Nobrega. Work on phage therapy continued in places like Georgia and there are individual accounts of it working wonders; but there hasn't been the same depth of medical research and clinical trials as there have for just as the initial success of antibiotics suppressed phage research, the failure of antibiotics is reigniting excitement at their than a million people a year are already dying from infections caused by microbes that are resistant to treatment – it's known as the "silent pandemic". By 2050, that figure is projected to reach 10 million a "antibiotic apocalypse" would mean common infections could kill again and undermine modern medicine. The drugs are also used to make organ transplants, open surgery and chemotherapy possible."The predictions around antibiotic resistance are very frightening, but the reality is we're seeing it now and it's only going to get worse," says Prof Paul Elkington, the director of the institute for medical innovation at the University of Southampton. He is also a doctor with a speciality in lung medicine and is already at the point where - after a year of treatment and turning to ever more toxic and less effective antibiotics - "in the end you have to have a conversation [and say] 'we can't treat this infection, we're really sorry'".He says we can't rely solely on antibiotics in the future and phage are a potential he warns the steps needed to get from the laboratory and into patients are "uncharted".Things are changing. Phage therapy is available in the UK on compassionate grounds when other treatments have failed. And the drugs regulator – The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency – has published its first official rules to support the development of phage therapy."If one looks 15-20 years into the future, with the emerging methodologies, it's going to be possible for them to be much more widely available and for doctors to prescribe phage instead of antibiotics for some infections," says Prof you want to see if you can find a friendly virus too then The Phage Collection Project are launching their new sampling kits at the Summer Science Exhibition taking place this week at the Royal Society and through their website."Antimicrobial resistance is something that could affect all of us," says Esme Brinsden from the Phage Collection Project, "when the public get involved they may just find the next phage that can help treat and save a patient's life".Photography by the BBC's Emma Lynch
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
India women in England 2025
June 28 1st Twenty20 international, Trent Bridge Play starts at 14:30 BST Scorecard July 1 2nd Twenty20 international, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (d/n) (18:30 BST) 4 3rd Twenty20 international, The Kia Oval (d/n) (18:35 BST) Advertisement 9 4th Twenty20 international, Emirates Old Trafford (d/n) (18:30 BST) 12 5th Twenty20 international, Edgbaston (d/n) (18:35 BST) 16 1st ODI, Utilita Bowl, Southampton (d/n) (13:00 BST) 19 2nd ODI, Lord's (11:00 BST) 22 3rd ODI, Seat Unique Riverside, Chester-le-Street (d/n) (13:00 BST) NB Fixtures and start times are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made
Daily Record
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Russell Martin broke my heart but as a Rangers diehard this is how I think he'll fare at Ibrox
Leeds United hero Stuart Dallas has swapped the pitch for the stands as he follows Gers across Europe Stuart Dallas has Follow Followed Rangers across the continent. And the former Leeds ace is convinced that with Russell Martin leading from the front, his Ibrox heroes are now heading back to the promised land. The retired Northern Ireland defender may be a legend at Elland Road but he grew up idolising the Light Blues. And since hanging up his boots last year, the 34-year-old has had plenty of spare time to join his big brother Marcus on foreign jaunts cheering on Gers in Europa League action. He was among the thousands of jubilant fans who celebrated last term's memorable away wins over Nice and Fenerbahce and has been a regular at Ibrox too down the years. Now Dallas can't wait to see how far Martin's new-look line-up can make it this season as they begin their Champions League quest with next month's multi-million-pound Panathinaikos clash. Dallas witnessed just how difficult it is to put the breaks on Martin's high-risk passing philosophy himself when he was given a front-row seat during his final injury-hit season at Leeds. He may not have been out on the pitch for the Lillywhites' fateful 2024 play-off final clash but he certainly felt for his team-mates as they were given the runaround by Martin's swashbuckling Southampton side on the day they clinched promotion to the Premier League with victory at Wembley. And he's vowed to be in among the Ibrox legions again this term as Martin's Rangers set out on the long road back to Uefa's top tournament. 'I think it's a great appointment,' he said. 'I was injured for the play-off final against Russell's Southampton team, but I've come up against his sides before. I'm a big fan of his. 'I know the appointment has caused a bit of divide in the fanbase because of how he fared in the Premier League. 'But if you give him the right tools, he's a very, very talented manager.' Russell's refusal to budge from his possession-heavy tactical plan cost him his job at St Mary's as Saints' lack of firepower was brutally exposed by their ruthless top-flight opponents. But Dallas expects to see the new Light Blues boss stick to his guns again at Ibrox. He said: 'He has a clear style of play. He knows exactly what he wants. 'This thing about him not being able to adapt is based on the fact he didn't do so well in the Premier League. 'But the year that Southampton went up, they beat Leeds in the play-off final, in fact they beat Leeds three times that year. "He was able to change his shape and adapt to different situations. So I think it's a great appointment. I'm excited again to see how he gets on. 'People think it's just passing, passing, passing for no reason, but that is mentally draining a player if you're having to chase the ball. 'I get it. There's a fine line in passing the ball around and doing nothing with it, but Russell Martin knows how to break down a low block. 'Ninety-five percent of the time in Scotland, you're going to come up against that, bar maybe when you're playing Celtic. 'He takes risks at the back, but with the high risk comes reward as well, doesn't it? I think it's good. 'Obviously, he's going to need players. Of course, he has a squad that needs an upgrade but again, I'm very excited for how it's going to go.' And Dallas is looking forward to taking in a few more European away days this season. Recalling his recent trips with Gers, the Bluenose from Cookstown said: 'I went to Fenerbahce, I was a Nice as well. Sadly I wasn't in Seville. I was supposed to go to Bilbao, but I was on holiday. 'But I've done Anfield, Old Trafford, a lot of away games. 'Obviously when you're playing, it's difficult to get up to games at Ibrox. 'But my brother's been a season ticket holder for years and all my pals are big Rangers fans. Going to more games with my brother was always something I said I'd do whenever I retired. 'It's enjoyable going away. My first game at Ibrox was back in 2002. It was Rangers-Hearts. 'I went with my brother, my mum and my granny. My grandad brought me over to the game. Me and my brother went. "I think we won 2-0. I would have liked to have been able to get more games throughout my career but it just doesn't work out that way. 'I took my kids up to the Bilbao home game. I drove all the way up there for a 0-0 draw! 'But the penalty save that night was worth it. It will be great to see Rangers back competing on all fronts. 'They need to close that gap to Celtic.'
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Colchester sign Shrewsbury midfielder Gape
Dominic Gape made his only Premier League appearance for Southampton in a 3-0 win over Everton in December 2014 [Getty Images] Colchester United have signed midfielder Dominic Gape following his departure from Shrewsbury Town. Gape, made 16 appearances for Salop last season as the club finished bottom of League One, ending their 10-year stay in the third tier. Advertisement The former Southampton trainee has played at every level of the English professional pyramid, from the Premier League with Saints to seven seasons at Wycombe, helping the club go from League Two up to the Championship. He also had a 10-game spell in the National League with Eastleigh in the first half of last term before his move to Shrewsbury. Gape is Colchester's second signing of the summer following the arrival of forward Jaden Williams from Tottenham. "Coming through at Wycombe, I was really lucky to have a great group of senior pros to help guide me," Gape said. "Now I feel like it's my turn to be that senior pro, to offer guidance and show the young lads what it means to be a professional and to be a winner." The length of Gape's deal has not been disclosed.
