The discovery of, and research in, the field of phages was overshadowed by the discovery and implementation of antibiotic treatments for infectious disease control. With the rising concern of antibiotic-resistant microbes, is there a serious effort to refocus research and development to master the science and technology of phages?
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This is a very interesting topic. Indeed, historically, it might seem that "phage therapy" research is in a dormant state. But there are some groups actively doing theoretical research on the synergy between phage treatments and the immune system, as well as research on how the appearance of antibiotic resistance could be attenuated by the use of phages.
Nevertheless, this research is not what the field is trending towards, since there is still hope to find new antibiotics (for which, then, we will see other types of resistance evolving), and most of the funding agencies are still privileging this instead of the alternatives.
A colleage of mine is working on this very same theme. Here is one of his recent research papers on a specific type of infection.
Cheers,
Pedro
