The study confirmed that “we share more than an emotional connection with our phones – they carry our personal microbiome,” lead author James Meadow from the University of Oregon in Eugene told BBC News.
Samples for the research were taken from the phones, thumbs, and index fingers of 17 participants at a workshop in Princeton, New Jersey. Sequencing revealed more than 7,000 different bacterial species. The most three commonly shared species, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Corynebacterium, are all commonly found on the skin or in the mouth. For now, there’s no evidence that phones present an infection risk greater than other personal items, such as money. “Even if you look at different areas of the skin you’ll see different types of microbes,” microbiologist Catherine Burke of the University of Technology, Sydney, told The Conversation. “So I was a little bit surprised that you would see so much similarity between what’s on your skin and what’s on your phone.”
“This project was a proof-of-concept to see if our favorite and most closely held possessions microbially resemble us,” added Meadow. “We are ultimately interested in the possibility of using personal effects as a non-invasive way to monitor our health and our contact with the surrounding environment.”
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