Are phages the future of medicine?

12/3/2025
Reading time 1 min.

They often have a bad reputation – yet they are much more than just pathogens. In the documentary “Viruses: Friend and Foe!”, the science program Quarks explores the dual role of viruses. TUM professor Bärbel Stecher contributes her scientific perspective on a special type of virus – the bacteriophages.

Prof. Bärbel Stecher provides insights into her field of research.

Phages are seen as promising agents in medicine: they specifically target certain bacteria and could therefore play an important role in the fight against issues like antibiotic resistance. In the human gut, they are a natural part of the microbiome. What can we learn from them? And can these prospects be translated into therapeutic use? Bärbel Stecher, an expert on the intestinal microbiome at the TUM School of Life Sciences, is exploring exactly these questions.