Resumen de Moving home? Your microbes are coming too
People may forget their toothbrush when they go away--but they can't leave their microbes. Millions of them hitch a ride on people, and in just 24 hours they can take over an entire house. The cells of the bodies are outnumbered 10 to 1 by microbial cells. Every time people breathe, sneeze or cough they leave traces of these organisms. Because people generally spend a lot of time at home, most of this microbial shedding is done there. Jack Gilbert from the University of Chicago and his colleagues have now mapped the microbial hangers-on of seven human families, including three that were in the process of moving house.
