Bacterial Life On and In Humans Orchestrates Health and Disease
A mounting tide of scientific evidence suggests that the old adage from Aesop's fables "You are known by the company you keep" also applies to the trillions of microscopic bacteria and viruses that live on the human body. Humanity's invisible but constant companions more bacteria hang out on the palms of your hands than there are people on Earth is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.Â
C&EN associate editor Sarah Everts notes in the article that the astonishing diversity of microbes inhabiting every inch of the skin and parts of the interior profoundly influences your quality of life mostly for good from cradle to grave. Microbes protect people from disease, make essential vitamins, and provide digestive enzymes needed to break down plant fibers for energy. Microbes also may have a say in whether people are skinny or fat and how they smell.
In the past three years, scientists have begun several large projects to map the diversity and activities of these microbes in hopes of linking them to health and disease. The projects include the National Institutes of Health's Human Microbiome Project and the European Union's Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract. These and other projects are starting to reveal that every part of the body has its own ecosystem, much like the diversity of landscapes on Earth.
CDC Urges Vigilance: New Recommendations for Monitoring and Testing H5N1 Exposures
July 11th 2025With avian influenza A(H5N1) infections surfacing in both animals and humans, the CDC has issued updated guidance calling for aggressive monitoring and targeted testing to contain the virus and protect public health.
IP LifeLine: Layoffs and the Evolving Job Market Landscape for Infection Preventionists
July 11th 2025Infection preventionists, once hailed as indispensable during the pandemic, now face a sobering reality: budget pressures, hiring freezes, and layoffs are reshaping the field, leaving many IPs worried about their future and questioning their value within health care organizations.
A Helping Hand: Innovative Approaches to Expanding Hand Hygiene Programs in Acute Care Settings
July 9th 2025Who knew candy, UV lights, and a college kid in scrubs could double hand hygiene adherence? A Pennsylvania hospital’s creative shake-up of its infection prevention program shows that sometimes it takes more than soap to get hands clean—and keep them that way.
