title: Microbiology: breaking down biofilms.
abstract: Biofilms--adherent bacterial communities embedded in a polymer matrix--are common in nature and can cause persistent human infections that are highly resistant to antibiotics. Recent work provides insight into how these communities develop and function, and offers clues to combating them.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California 95053, USA. cstephens@scu.edu
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stephens
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis