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Caught on film

Nature Medicine volume 17, pages 650–652 (2011)Cite this article

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Scummy surface layers known as biofilms can coat everything from teeth to pacemakers. In addition to the yuck factor, these slimy fortresses offer a menacing safe haven for deadly bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus. Michelle Pflumm reports on new vaccines that aim to prevent microbes from building biofilms in the first place.

Eventually, he discovered that the surface of the cement was the ideal meeting ground for Staphylococcus aureus, the microbe infamous for causing fatal hospital-acquired infections. These clever bacteria adhered onto the gluey acrylic substances and formed gunky layers of protein and sugar called biofilms to dodge the concurrently administered antibiotics. Try as he might, Shirtliff couldn't break the cycle of recurrent bone infections.

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  1. Michelle Pflumm, a former intern at Nature Medicine, is a freelance writer based in Boston,

    Michelle Pflumm

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  1. Michelle Pflumm
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Pflumm, M. Caught on film. Nat Med 17, 650–652 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0611-650

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