Making medical clothing that kills bugs

AROUND the beginning of the 20th century the medical profession underwent an image makeover. Doctors swapped their traditional black coats for white ones, similar to those worn by scientists in laboratories. This was meant to bolster a physician's scientific credibility at a time when many practising healers were quacks, charlatans and frauds. As the importance of antiseptics became more widely understood, white was also thought to have the advantage of showing any soiling. Nowadays many doctors...