In the latest Medical Discovery News by UTMB’s David Niesel and Norbert Herzog: Though it has a reputation as slimy and gross, mucus is one of the most valuable lines of defense against the bacteria people are exposed to every day. It exists not only in a person’s nose, but the respiratory, digestive, urogenital, visual and auditory systems. Science now shows it contains viruses called bacteriophage (phage for short) that attack and kill bacteria. The column also appears in the Abilene Reporter-News.