Battle royale: Self-cloaking virus vs. regenerating bacteria

By Samantha Black, PhD, ScienceBoard editor in chief
January 7, 2022

Which one is more likely to win in a fight: a self-cloaking virus or regenerating bacteria? These two groups of microbes can wreak havoc on the human body, albeit in vastly different ways. While there may be no right or wrong answer, ScienceBoard has initiated a long-term effort to probe experts on where they would place their bets in this epic fight.

While science exponentially increases its understanding of the molecular world each year, it seems that the more we learn, new questions are raised. ScienceBoard queried the brightest minds in the biotechnology industry to find out whether they think regenerating bacteria or a self-cloaking virus would win in the battle of the ages:

The responses to this question were collected as part of various interviews conducted by the ScienceBoard team, including our meet-and-greet event series "Fun 5" and key opinion leader interviews.

Current score (last updated: January 7, 2022)

Self-cloaking virus	Regenerating bacteria
24	18

Look for us at events to tell us which one you think would win.

Thank you to all of the participants!

If you like this content, please share it with a colleague!