Think of a bacteriophage—a bacteria-attacking virus—as a behind-the-lines saboteur. Scientists have now engineered bacteriophages that can penetrate and dissolve the dense films, such as dental plaque, that some bacterial colonies form. These phages, which produce enzymes that target the so-called biofilms, may offer a new way to circumvent antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
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Despite being single-celled organisms, bacteria have social skills. Once they sense each other’s presence through chemical signals, bacteria of one or more species collectively build their biofilms from polymers that they excrete.