Despite our various cleaning products, regular scrubbing and overall good hygiene, we often forget that our body is home to numerous micro-organisms. While many think germs thrive only in and on sick people, a new research shows that even the healthiest people are home to thousands of germs species. Scientists say that 10,000 germ species live in and on us.
For those terrified by germs, the following lines are not going to be easy to read. It’s not exactly a breakthrough discovery, but for most ordinary people learning there are thousands of germ species thriving in and on us might come as a disgusting revelation. Scientists with the government’s Human Microbiome Project identified over 10,000 germ species that live in and on some of the healthiest people in the world.
These germs species thrive all over the body. They’re in your nose, crawling on your skin, thriving in your gut and even swarming on your eyelids. There’s basically no way of getting rid of them and put together, the bacteria, fungi and microbes living in and on humans weigh several pounds. Now it’s time to say “eeew”.
However, out of all the numerous germ species that make their homes in and on humans, many of them help us stay healthy. On the other hand, all people carry germs that are known to cause health conditions, such as the Staphylococcus epidermis bacteria. But as the study showed the pathogens tend to quietly coexist with the rest of the germs thriving on us. The reason behind that seems to be balance.
Dr. Philipp Tarr is one of the lead researchers in the study at hand. He explained that the discovery gives scientists “a whole new way of looking at human biology and human disease, and it’s awe-inspiring”.
The researchers made sure to emphasize that humans and the said germs coexist. In fact, when adding together each single germ, we reach a staggering total. Trillions of individuals germs reside in and our bodies. “These bacteria are not passengers. They are metabolically active”, explained Dr. Philipp Tarr.
“As a community, we now have to reckon with them like we have to reckon with the ecosystem in a forest or a body of water” added Dr. Tarr.
So, are you ready to embrace your new tenants?
