A composition can include a carbon nanofiber, wherein a precursor for the carbon nanofiber includes an alcohol and an aldehyde crosslinked by a primary amine. In certain embodiments, the carbon nanofiber can be biotemplated. Biotemplating enables precise control of morphology at the nanometer scale, while molecular templating allows control of carbon nanotexture and structure at the sub-nanometer scale.

Described herein are compositions for treating or preventing a viral infection comprising bacteriophages that bind to the virus and block or inhibit viral entry into a host cell. Bacteriophage libraries may be screened to identify bacteriophages that bind to a virus of interest, and the identified bacteriophages may be used to treat or prevent an infection caused by the virus of interest. Also described herein are methods of treating or preventing a viral infection by administering a bacteriophage composition to a subject in vivo or to a surface in vitro. The bacteriophages in the composition may bind to the virus and inhibit viral entry into a host cell, thereby reducing the infectivity of the virus. Reducing the infectivity of the virus may treat or prevent the viral infection.

The present invention provides a gene including an M13 p5 expressing cassette, which includes a promoter, a ribosome binding site (RBS) and a protein 5 (p5) coding region, wherein at least one base of sequences between the RBS and the p5 coding region is mutated. Using this gene may increase production of single-stranded DNA.

A bacteriophage structure, a method of making the structure, and uses of the structure are described. The structure is a substrate with a surface having an ordered arrangement of parallel microridges thereon. Each microridge is composed of a plurality of nanoridges and has a longitudinal axis. Each nanoridge contains a bundle of phage nano fibers having longitudinal axes. The phage nanofibers in each nanoridge bundle are arranged in a substantially smectic alignment. The longitudinal axis of each microridge is perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the phage nanofibers which make up the nanoridges of the microridge. The structure may be used as a growth surface for inducing differentiation of stem cells such as neural progenitor cells.

The invention provides systems, methods, reagents, apparatuses, vectors, and host cells for the continuous evolution of nucleic acids. For example, a lagoon is provided in which a population of viral vectors comprising a gene of interest replicates in a stream of host cells, wherein the viral vectors lack a gene encoding a protein required for the generation of infectious viral particles, and wherein that gene is expressed in the host cells under the control of a conditional promoter, the activity of which depends on a function of the gene of interest to be evolved. Some aspects of this invention provide evolved products obtained from continuous evolution procedures described herein. Kits containing materials for continuous evolution are also provided.

The invention provides systems, methods, reagents, apparatuses, vectors, and host cells for the continuous evolution of nucleic acids. For example, a lagoon is provided in which a population of viral vectors comprising a gene of interest replicates in a stream of host cells, wherein the viral vectors lack a gene encoding a protein required for the generation of infectious viral particles, and wherein that gene is expressed in the host cells under the control of a conditional promoter, the activity of which depends on a function of the gene of interest to be evolved. Some aspects of this invention provide evolved products obtained from continuous evolution procedures described herein. Kits containing materials for continuous evolution are also provided.

Compositions for a phage particle are disclosed. The phage particle is non-replicating and includes at least one heterologous nucleic acid sequence that is capable of being expressed in a target bacteria. The expressed heterologous nucleic acid sequence is non-lethal to the target bacteria.

Cancer eradicating engineered bacteriophage are described that can display a high copy number of a targeting polypeptide that can bind a surface antigen of a cancer cell. The bacteriophage can also display a high copy number of a cancer therapy, one or more of a drug, a toxin, an inhibitor, a radionuclide, etc. The targeting polypeptides and the cancer therapies can be directly or indirectly fused to coat proteins of the phage. The engineered phage can exhibit high avidity for cancer cells and can deliver a large dose of a cancer therapy per particle to the cell.

The present invention relates to a phage or a composition that comprises it, wherein said phage expresses at least one specific recognition element and is furthermore conjugated with at least 300 molecules of a sonosensitiser. The invention further relates to the use of said phage in a sonodynamic therapy.

Novel chimeric proteins may be used to inhibit transcriptional A activities that are mediated by transcription factor interactions with P-TEFb. The chimeras contain elements that recruit the target transcription factor, maintain CDK9 in an inactive state, and competitively inhibit P-TEFb binding to the transcription factor. The chimeras may be configured for inhibition of HIV Tat mediated transcription and thus provide a novel means of preventing reactivation of integrated HIV, providing a new tool for emerging “block and lock” HIV cure strategies.