The microscopic whiskers can stop bacteria in a face mask or filter out water droplets in a hospital's air conditioner.

FORBES: Back on Track

Light-emitting chemicals used in the filter help scientists measure how many bacteria are bound onto the antibodies.

BBC: Speedy 'burger bug' test

The building had tested negative three times previously for anthrax, but workers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used a special vacuum with a filter developed to detect even the most minute amounts of the deadly bacteria.

BBC: Anthrax found in Connecticut mail facility