An ancient bacterial defence system dating back billions of years could hold the key to fighting modern viral threats.

Scientists from Penn State University led by Professor Thomas Wood uncovered how bacteria use long-dormant viruses embedded in their DNA - known as cryptic prophages - to fend off new viral invaders.

Their study, published in Nucleic Acids Research, reveals how this ancient mechanism could inspire new antiviral therapies and help tackle antibiotic resistance.

Wood explained: “These bacteria carry fossil viruses in their genomes, and we’ve found that those fossils are actually helping protect them from infection.

“It’s a fine-tuned defense system that’s evolved over millions of years.”

The team discovered that a bacterial enzyme called recombinase, triggered by embedde

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