It’s Probably Just a Phage

Oh, puns. They never get old… until they do.

Bacteria and viruses are not the same. I harp on this all the time, being the overzealous nerd that I am. And I just realized I never talked about an example that underscores their difference more than anything else–the fact that bacteria get viruses!

Perhaps this can be another reminder that bacteria aren’t all bad. I mean, we can now commiserate with them about the annoyances of viruses. When I was tethered to the couch last week with my virus-induced borderline coma, that was all that got me through it (that and alka seltzer cold). Nothing brings people/species together more than a common enemy. (I’m pretty sure our only hope for world peace is the existence of hostile aliens.)

A virus that infects bacteria is a called a phage, sometimes called a bacteriophage (to clear up any doubts as to what it’s infecting). Behold, it looks like a spaceship:

If you think bacteria are small, you won’t believe how small phages are. Here’s a picture of one in the process of infecting a bacterium.

So if a bacterium were the size of a pregnant rabbit, a phage would be the size of a lizard’s eyeball. Not clear enough? Let’s say that bacterium:phage is approximately the same as watermelon:blueberry. Not into fruit comparisons? How’s about basketball:marble? Giant Mrs. Fields cookie:dime? I don’t know any more, and I’m starting to confuse myself.

The most important thing to know about bacteriophages is that they lend themselves well to being cake-ified, as my friend Mahira brilliantly demonstrates.