Germ Videos

It happens to every woman; they forget their makeup one time or another and they have to make a choice - to use your friend's makeup or not to use your friend's makeup. But is this safe? Can makeup transfer germs and bacteria? Dr. Schultz answers this question.

How did multicellular organisms evolve? Sophia Tintori and Cassandra Extavour, developmental biologist at Harvard, talk about the development of multicellular organisms.

Some people wear business suits to work, but scientists at Draper Labs have to wear "bunny suits" because they work in a clean room. Discovery News takes a tour of their lab and learns the ins and outs of clean room culture.

Mrs. Brunskills 7th Grade classes petri dishes from the germ culture experiment

Parents are often presented with conflicting messages about germs and cleanliness. On the one hand, the news headlines warn us about dangerous "superbugs." On the other hand, there is growing concern that over-cleaning and excessive hygiene may weaken children's immune systems. Fortunately, there is real, vetted science available to help us understand how to best protect, without overprotecting, our kids. In episode 26 of MicrobeWorld Video, we talk with Dr. Harley Rotbart, author of Germ Proof Your Kids: The Complete Guide to Protecting (without Overprotecting) Your Family from Infections. Dr. Rotbart, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at The University of Colorado and The Children's Hospital of Denver, has practiced, researched, and taught germ defense for the past 25 years. His new book serves as a resource for parents and health care providers to help put science back into the discussion of protecting kids from microscopic dangers. In addition to evaluating the traditional approaches to infection prevention (vaccines, antibiotics, etc.), Dr. Rotbart also analyzes the science behind Mom's advice about the effects of hygiene, nutrition, sleep, stress, exercise, and even wearing boots in the rain. It turns out Mom was right most of the time. This video was filmed live at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. and in various locations around the DC metro area. For more audio and video podcasts about microbiology, health and life science-related subjects, please visit www.microbeworld.org. If you would like to know more about Germ Proof Your Kids please visit www.germproofyourkids.com.