The public view of bacteria is changing. We once thought all bacteria were harmful, but now we are beginning to understand the delicate symbiotic relationship between people, animals, their gut microflora and control of the microbial environment. This balance is important to the well-being of both animals and the people taking care of ... Read More
Featured Articles
Fighting Superbugs
One of the greatest dangers facing mankind is bacterial resistance. Mainline antibiotics are having trouble killing many of the most dangerous pathogens, such as MRSA, C. difficile, tuberculosis and many others. The problem is that bacteria evolve to resist treatment, and the more antibiotics they face, the faster they evolve. ... Read More
The Problem with Traditional Cleaners
The old way of cleaning was quite simple – try to kill everything. Unfortunately, that approach has not worked so well. We’ve been trying to establish an unnatural, and unsustainable, sterile environment – a vacuum - and nature abhors a vacuum. The other problem with the “kill everything philosophy” is that it doesn’t kill everything – ... Read More
The Sustainable Solution
We don’t like to think about it, but most heavy-duty disinfectants are just chemotherapy for our environment. The idea is to poison all the microbes around us and hope those poisons don’t damage human or animal health. It’s a bad bet. Toxins can accumulate in the environment and our bodies. Dangerous bacteria and viruses can develop ... Read More
Measuring Biofilm with ATP
The problem with biofilm is that it’s usually invisible. Even surfaces that appear clean can be crawling with salmonella, MRSA and other dangerous bacteria. So how do we tell if a surface is truly clean? Fortunately, bacteria and the support system they live in leave a marker – adenosine triphosphate or ATP. ATP is the energy currency ... Read More
What is Biofilm?
Insidious Biofilm You’ve heard of antibiotic resistant bacteria, but there are also microbes can also resist the most caustic and acidic cleansers. They have a special trick, secreting a syrupy substance that protects them from bleach, oxidizers and disinfectants. The surface may look clean, but this microscopic biofilm is harboring ... Read More
The Importance of Probiotics
For eons, bacteria have been fighting against each other for scarce resources. Today, we can use this battle to our advantage. Probiotics are non-pathogenic (i.e., good) bacteria that can colonize surfaces and organisms. In doing so, they make it difficult for dangerous pathogens to get a toehold. Think of it as a microbial free market: ... Read More
