Middle-ear infections are a common affliction in early life, affecting more than 80% of children in the U.S. Antibiotics are often employed as a first line of defense but sometimes fail against the pathogenic bacteria that can develop in the middle ear, just behind the eardrum. In a new study, researchers explore the use of microplasma — a highly focused stream of chemically excited ions and molecules — as a noninvasive method for attacking the bacterial biofilms that resist antibiotic treatment in the middle ear.