All the World’s a Phage

Viruses that eat bacteria abound — and surprise

Smaller than bacteria, some of them look like microscopic spacecraft. You can find them almost anywhere: under a rosebush or miles out to sea. These strange entities are bacteriophages, viruses that prey upon bacteria, and there’s a staggering number of them. A pinch of soil or drop of seawater, for example, contains many millions of bacteriophages.