Canadians develop hospital-ready sterilizer

Used to be that when you needed surgery, your biggest worry was the operation itself. Today, superbugs like MRSA and other nasty infections that are Houdinis at outwitting antibiotics have made hospitals scary.

Like ants rushing to a picnic, these bad bugs flock to places full of people with weakened immune systems. It has made checking in for even simple procedures not so simple. And it's why many patients arrive with jugs of hand sanitizer, and visitors bring it instead of flowers when they come to see friends.

So you may be as intrigued as we were by this news. First, Canadian researchers have cloned one of your body's systems for killing bad bugs. Antibodies use tiny, lethal blasts of ozone and hydrogen peroxide to attack certain germs -- zap, they're goners. The combo has been turned into an ozone-peroxide gas that, when pumped into a room, sterilizes everything: floors, ceilings, furniture, bathrooms, mattresses. (Bonus: It kills bedbugs.) MRSA, E. coli, c. difficile and other famously difficult bacteria keel over, as do viruses and molds. The disinfection process takes 60 minutes and supposedly leaves a pleasant smell, though we haven't had a whiff.

Best news: It is said to be available in early 2012.

Meanwhile, Israeli microbiologists have developed a novel way to attack the deadly bacteria: infecting these tiny terrorists with a gene that breaks down their resistance to antibiotics. It's a liquid that's added to other cleansers and is said to be easy to make and use, nontoxic and cheap. Testing's not complete. Still, it's good to have a plan B.