The Arms Race
Bacteria versus phage for three billion years
“Where there is virus, there is immunity.” — Eugene Koonin
Read chapter (FR) → Chapters
The story
The story
of bacterial defenses.
9 narrative chapters on the bacterial defense arsenal. Vulgarization on technically rigorous ground. Available in French. The English narrative track is rolling out progressively — for now, the chapters themselves remain in French, but you can read them with the help of any modern browser translation, and the lexicon is bilingually cross-referenced through UniProt accessions.
- 1.
- 2.
The Language of Cycles
How bacteria talk to their own proteins by synthesizing cyclic nucleotides
“cGAMP is not a mammalian invention. It is a language bacteria have practiced for three billion years.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 3.
The Nucleotide Weapon
How bacterial viperin anticipates the chemistry of a pharmaceutical blockbuster
“Sofosbuvir cures Hepatitis C. No one knew, in 2013, that a bacterial enzyme had been practicing the same chemistry for three billion years.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 4.
The tRNA Sentinels
How bacterial Schlafen and human SLFN11 halt viral translation
“tRNA is the fuel of translation. Cutting tRNA is cutting the gas before the engine.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 5.
Silent Editing
Bacterial RADAR, human ADAR1, and the pharmacology of RNA masking
“In humans, ADAR1 disguises endogenous RNA so it doesn't start a war. In bacteria, RADAR edits viral RNA so it no longer functions at all. Same enzyme, two strategies.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 6.
When the Phage Responds
The viral anti-defense arsenal, a black mirror of our toolkit
“For every bacterial sentinel, a virus has already built the shield that neutralizes it. Our task is not only to learn the defenses: it is to read the entire conversation.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 7.
Attribution Without Hierarchy
DID, Open Badges 3.0 and the end of the ranking system applied to science
“Attest without ranking. Recognize without hierarchizing. It is technically difficult, and that is precisely the project's gamble.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 8.
The Federation
DAP, Daphne, and why your private data never needs to leave your lab
“Centralized learns from you because it takes your data. Federated learns with you without taking it. This is not a technical detail. It is a shift in power.”
Read chapter (FR) → - 9.
Short Illustrated Lexicon
The unit bricks of the anti-phage arsenal, told so they are remembered
“You will remember a word if you remember a story. That is why Pasteur beat Pouchet: he had a narrative, not just an experiment.”
Read chapter (FR) →