This book details the widely accepted hypothesis that the majority of bacteria in virtually all ecosystems grow in matrix-enclosed biofilms. The author, who first proposed this biofilm hypothesis, uses direct evidence from microscopy and from molecular techniques, arguing cogently for moving beyond conventional culture methods that dominated microbiology in the last century. Bacteria grow predominantly in biofilms in natural, engineered, and pathogenic ecosystems; this book provides a solid basis for the understanding of bacterial processes in environmental, industrial, agricultural,...
This book details the widely accepted hypothesis that the majority of bacteria in virtually all ecosystems grow in matrix-enclosed biofilms. The au...
In the well-watered groves of academe, most of us are content to gather worshipful students and technicians in a shady nook to contemplate the eternal verities and to plan extravagant feasts to celebrate our contributions to knowledge and to the gradual improvement of the human condition. As one convocation follows another, and as our funding agencies pump billions of dollars into incremental research that ?lls every possible pigeon-hole in which a gene makes a protein, a small number of intellectual athletes seize a pivotal concept and plunge into the real world. It is this small band of...
In the well-watered groves of academe, most of us are content to gather worshipful students and technicians in a shady nook to contemplate the eternal...
During the recent transition between acute diseases caused by swarms of single planktonic bacteria, and chronic infections caused by bacteria growing in slime-enclosed biofilms, a general clinical consensus has emerged that pathologies with bacterial etiologies are frequently culture negative. Because biofilm infections now affect 17 million Americans per year (killing approximately 450,000), the suggestion that these common and lethal infections regularly go unnoticed by the only FDA-approved method for their detection and characterization is a matter of urgent concern. Biologically, we...
During the recent transition between acute diseases caused by swarms of single planktonic bacteria, and chronic infections caused by bacteria growi...
During the recent transition between acute diseases caused by swarms of single planktonic bacteria, and chronic infections caused by bacteria growing in slime-enclosed biofilms, a general clinical consensus has emerged that pathologies with bacterial etiologies are frequently culture negative. Because biofilm infections now affect 17 million Americans per year (killing approximately 450,000), the suggestion that these common and lethal infections regularly go unnoticed by the only FDA-approved method for their detection and characterization is a matter of urgent concern. Biologically, we...
During the recent transition between acute diseases caused by swarms of single planktonic bacteria, and chronic infections caused by bacteria growi...
Bacteria and fungi are able to aggregate together or on surfaces in densely packed microcolonies, facilitated by extracellular polymeric substances for cell protection and stability. These biofilms have proven to be extremely hard to eradicate and remove once established. In chronic infections, this condition can result in a high degree of morbidity and mortality as regular antibiotic treatments are ineffective against biofilms. In industrial facilities, the formation of biofilms can ruin production and result in enormous financial losses.
In this book, the current state of...
Bacteria and fungi are able to aggregate together or on surfaces in densely packed microcolonies, facilitated by extracellular polymeric substances...
