Rob Knight

On average, right and left hands of the same person separated by about 17 percent of the same species of bacteria. In fact, it turns a full variety of gift from bacteria by human hands and seems comparable to or even exceed a certain number of existing in other parts of the body, including the esophagus, mouth and intestines – says Fierer. Researchers have found 332,000 gene sequences in general, approximately 100 times greater than the number found in other studies of skin bacteria. Fierer said the study also confirmed that the standard method of cultivation used by many laboratories to find bacteria on human skin nizkoploten dramatically compared with the full range of microbial diversity.

Differences in the pH of skin between the male and female skin may explain why women’s hands are wider range of bacteria, “said Fierer: Men’s skin tends to be more acidic and other studies have shown that bacteria can not survive so well in an acidic environment. Another reason could be gender differences in the thickness skin, hormones, sweat and sebaceous glands, the use of skin products like moisturizers. Differences between left and right hands could be due to the dominant and non-dominant hand the effects that relate to the production fat, salt and humidity on the palms, as well as the effect of touching different surfaces of different hands. The study also showed that the range of varieties has not been damaged, even regular hand washing. Fierer and colleagues found that levels of some bacteria decreased after washing hands, but suddenly rose others.

They stressed the importance of washing with antibacterial soap. ‘The vast majority of bacteria is a non-pathogenic bacteria, and some even protect against the spread of pathogens, “said co-author Rob Knight, who is an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the ‘University of Colorado at Boulder’. ‘From a health standpoint regular hand-washing is a very positive effect’ he added. Fierer and colleagues wrote that, although hand washing changed the composition of bacteria, the full diversity of bacteria found on hands of participants was not associated with how long their hands were unwashed. They think: ‘or bacterial colonies quickly recovered after washing hands or washing (as was done by students, included in this study) does not remove the majority of bacteria found on the skin surface. ” The researchers also found that, compared with harvested from the adjacent areas of the body as the forearm and elbow, palm of the hand was home to the bacteria three times higher than them. Fierer said she saw a human body as a ‘continent of microscopic ecological zones’ harboring a variety of ecosystems, comparable to the deep ocean or the tropical jungle. ‘Today we have the ability to respond to large-scale questions about these complex microbial communities and their importance for human health, which we have not even asked six months ago or a year, ‘she added.