The Forgotten Cure by Anna Kuchment is a fascinating book. While I knew who discovered bacteriophages, I did not know how they came across them or how deep their research went. Felix d’Herelle not only led an interesting life but proved to be a great scientist. It is interesting that he never attended higher education, but loved science so much he studied it on his own. D’Herelle’s interest in phage led him to not only discover their existence, but he was able to learn how bacteriophage entered bacteria and destroyed them with simple observations and no electron microscope.
D’Herelle’s work with locusts led to his discovery of bacteriophages, but without his work with a dysentery outbreak, he might not have carried his work as far as he did. It is amazing to me to think of how phages were already working in patients with dysentery to keep the bacterial colonies in check before we even knew phage existed. D’Herelle’s close observation of his patients shows his dedication and interest in his work.
With so many major breakthroughs in science around the time bacteriophage were discovered, it is not shocking to me that phage therapy failed to spread at this time. Without being able to see phages, it was harder for scientists to study their structure and how they worked. Regulation of clinical trials and research was also a major reason phage therapy failed to spread. This combined with little government funding persuaded many scientists to move on to other areas of research. When d’Herelle first published about phages, there was no television or radio, which also slowed the spread of phage therapy in his time. Also, because he was self-taught, many scientists were reluctant to trust him at first.
Max Delbruck and Salvador Luria and the Phage Group made many more discoveries with the help of bacteriophage. Their work with phages led to Hershey and Chase’s experiment and the discovery of DNA as the genetic material. They also learned how phages attack and kill bacteria. While they worked on phages, the scientists limited the number of phages they studied to seven, limiting their impact on areas such as the diversity of phages.
Reading the first few chapters of The Forgotten Cure has introduced me to many new topics in phage discovery and therapy. I am excited to continue reading and learn more about bacteriophages.
