There are more phages on earth than every other organism combined, including bacteria.

地球上所有的有机体加起来也没有体的数量多，包括细。

In the West, there have been successful phage trials for foot ulcers.

在西方，已经有成功的体试验治疗足。

A phage is a virus; not quite alive, not quite dead.

体是一种毒；然而它并不完全是活的，也不完全是死的。

But phages also have major flaws.

然而，体有一个最大的缺点。

Like any other virus, phages need a host to survive and reproduce.

像所有其他的毒一样，体需要宿主来生存繁殖。

This happens when phages, rather than killing their hosts immediately, integrate their genomes into those of their prey.

当体不是立即杀死宿主，而是将自己的基因组整合到猎物的基因组中时，就会发生这种情况。

Phages, viruses that attack bacteria but don't affect humans, are one promising new avenue to combat bacterial infections.

体，一种能攻击细但不感染人体的毒，是一个很有前景的对抗细感染的新途径。

That helps the phages, because their bacterial prey also accumulate in mucus, which is thus a rich hunting ground.

这有助于体，因为细的侵染过程也是积聚在粘液中，这就为体提供了大量的寄生宿主。

Which might make you nervous since phages are responsible for the majority of deaths on earth but you're lucky.

可能世界上大部分死亡都是由体导致的，这一事实会让你感到紧张，然而你很幸运。

Several clinical trials of phage therapy have already been successfully conducted in Poland, the nation of Georgia and Bangladesh.

波兰、格鲁吉亚和孟加拉国已经成功地进行了若干体治疗的临床试验。

Usually, a phage has chosen one specific bacteria and maybe some of its very close relatives.

通常情况下，一个体只寄生某一种细以及一些它们的近亲。

The side touching the food is coated with phage E2, a virus engineered to stick only to Salmonella typhimurium bacteria.

触摸食物的一边涂有体E2, 这是一种被研发成只会依附鼠伤寒沙门氏的毒。

Smith's method is known as “phage display.”

史密斯的方法被称为“体展示”。

The way the phage hunts is with its feet.

体捕食的方式是用脚。

Typically, a phage will only infect a single bacterial species.

通常， 体只会感染一种细。

Phages need a healthy population of bacteria  to survive.

体需要健康的细群落才能生存。

But for the  phage and bacteria this is great.

但对于体和细来说, 这很棒。

New phages are released and begin the cycle anew.

新的体就此诞生，并重复上述的循环。

In a weird motion, the phage squeezes its tail and injects its genetic information.

用一种奇怪的动作，体将它的遗传信息通过它的尾巴挤进细中。

They only stop when the bacteria is filled up with brand-new phages.

直到整个细充满了新造好的体。