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AllitTakesisOneMoment

Thereyouare,thatspecialsomeoneissoclosetoyouthatyoucansmellthesweaton
yourpartnersskin.Yourheartbeatsrapidlyanduncontrollably,likeamothdesperatelytryingto
escapeaglassjarwithoutholes.Slowly,almosttothepointwherethemomentisagonizingfrom
anticipation,distancebetweeneachotherisclosed.Asmalltouchonyourfaceorarmleavesthe
skinclammywithnerves.Bothsetsofeyelidsfallcreatingablindeyetothecomingact.You
leanin,hopingyourpartnerfollowssuit.Then,finallythemomentcomes:twopairsofgentle
lipsmeetsalivacoatingthevulnerableskinofconjoinedmouths.Asyoupullaway,thefluid
stretchesintothinthreadsbetweenyou,butthebackhandwipeofyourmouthwillnotremove
themillionsofforeignbacteria1nowpenetratingthroughyourbody,andcoursinginyourveins.
Walkinghome,fromthatmemorabledate,yourmindcanbarelyfocus.Youfeelthe
flutterandtwistinyourstomachleftfromthekiss,orwait,isthatsquirminyourdigestionfrom
somethingelse,somethingfarlesspleasant?Withtheshakeofyourheadyoudisregardthe
possibility.However,thenextdayduringlunchthefeelingreturns.
Staringdownintoyourcontainer,youswirlthesyrupycontentsslowlywithonehand
andtheotherpressesintoyourstomach.Curiously,youglanceupatyourfriend,whogenerously
lentyouherspoon,andyouwonderifshewillrecognizeyourpainedlook.Oblivious,shesmiles
sweetlyandlaunchesintoanendlesstrailofsmalltalk.Wordsstreamoutofhermouthandyou
nodalongandsaywordslike,Oh,Wow,Yes,No,andOkayappropriately.Whenshe
sneezesslightly,probablyfromanoverdoseoftalking,youaretheoneoblvious.Youbarely
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Withinakissthetrueexchangerateforbacteriacanrangeanywherefrom10MilliontoaBillion(BacteriaFacts).
Atthemost,thatisnearlytwiceasmanypeoplewhoinhabittheentirecontinentofNorthAmerica(WPR).

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acknowledgethefactthatsheliftedherpaintednails,tocovertheblast,justasecondtoolate.
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Now,cloudsofmicroorganisms filltheairandrainthroughouttheroom.Withoutcare,youlick
theoilyliquidfromyourspoonandfingertips:eachsquarecentimeterisinfestedwitharound
1,500microorganisms3 .Lunchtimeisover.

Blanklyyoustareintothecomputerscreen.Yourfingersneedtobetyping,yourmind
needstoberacing,yourideasneedtobechurning,butneitherofthemaredoingwhattheyare
supposedto.Tap,tap,tap!Everyoneskeyboardsclickandclackexceptforyours.Youdrum
yourfingersnervouslyonthekeyssweatformsonyourbrowandgathersaroundyour
eyebrows.Slowly,youslideyourfingersdownyourface:fingersthatpressedontocomputer
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keyskeysthatcontainovertwohundredtimesmorebacteriathanonatoilet .Germssinkdown
yourslick,stickyskinandslinkintoyourpores.Allofasudden,theroomissweltering.Theair
issothickandhumidthatitissuffocatingyoueachlungfuloftheatmosphereswimsinyour
chestlikeliquid.Youabandonanythoughtofcompletingworkandinsteadfocuseverymoment
onbreathing.
Everyobjectisanenemy.Therearenoalliesforyouinaworldcoveredindisease.The
uneasinessinyourstomachmorphsintoastabbingpain.Thesicknessfillsyourbody,andyou
canfeelthebilecreepingupyourthroat.Hurriedly,youlookforanexit.First,youspottheblack
andwhitesignwithastickperson.Justfathomingtheimmenseamountofbacteriathatcollects
intheunsanitarysanctuary,clenchesyourstomachintoatightball.Then,inthefarcorner,you

AstudydoneatMITrevealssneezeparticlesactuallytravelinacloudformation,lettingsmallerdropletstravel
200timesfartherthanpreviouslythought(Dizikes).
3
Onaverageeverysquarecentimetercontains1,500bacteria(Hands):theaveragemaleshandhasanareaof488
cm2 andtheaveragefemaleshandhasanareaof392cm2(Lee).
4
Justthinkwhatgoesonatoilet,justimaginewhathappensinthegasstationpublicforbothgendersbathroom,
andjustfathomwhatoccurswhensomeoneupsetshisorherstomachwithtoomuchchili(BacteriaFacts).

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spottheglowingneonsignofhope.Yourshakylegsspringupandyourchairhitsthefloorwith
asmack.Allkeyboardkeysstoptappingasyoupropelyourselftowardsthedoor,butyoudonot
notice.
Intheafternoonsun,yourbodyheavesinonlyaminute,yourunpleasantlunchisjoined
withthesidewalk.However,thesicknessdoesnotsubside.Instead,thefeelingescalatesleaving
younochoicebuttoleavethemessfesteringandrottingintheheat.Bacteriagrowthoccurs
5

everyminute atnumerousratesonyourwaste,whichislefttositonthebakingconcrete.
Thenextday,yourheadisfilledwithfeverandyoulayinbedmoresimilartoacorpse
thanlivingflesh.Hence,theperfectopportunityforlucidthinkinghasarrived.First,you
considerthecrampeddeskyouleftbehindandhowyourtaintedbacteriawillremainpresentfor
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threedaysinyourabsence .Then,yourmindbeginstodrift.Asachild,youweresoinnocent
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everysingleinfantisbornwithoutanybacteria .Themomentyouenteredtheworldthat
purenesschanged:thefirstbreathyoutook,thefirsttouchofyourdelicateskin,thefirsthigh
wailofyourarrivaltookthataway.Even,thetouchofyourmotherslovinghandandthe
doctorsprofessionallyglovedhandcorruptedyou.Finally,yourmindlullsfromthestrainyour
bodydesperatelyrequiressleeptowardofftheinvadingmicroorganisms.Youreyesclose.

Differentbacteriathrivesatdifferenttemperatures,butEscherichiacoli,betterknownasE.coli,thrivesamong
manyotherbacteriaatabout98degreesfahrenheit(Hoyle)temperaturesintheupperninetiesareprimeforsummer
days.
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Travelingcoughsandsneezesalsoremainonsurfacesfor3daysviruseswillmostcommonlycollectonfrequently
useditemssuchasdesks,laptops,andcellphones(FactsAboutGerms).
7
Infantsarebornwithoutbacteria,butthebabyacquiresbacteriaafteritisborn(BacteriaFacts)itretrievesbacteria
fromthebirthcanal,outsidecontact,andeventhroughitsmothersmilk(UnderstandingIntestinalBacteria).

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Bibliography
"BacteriaFacts:23FactsaboutBacteriaYouDidn'tKnowFACTSlides."BacteriaFacts:23
FactsaboutBacteriaYouDidn'tKnowFACTSlides.Web.30Apr.2015.

Dizikes,Peter."IntheCloud:HowCoughsandSneezesFloatFartherthanYouThink."MIT
News.MITNews,8Apr.2014.Web.30Apr.2015.

"FactsAboutGerms."FactsAboutGerms.Web.01May2015.

"HandsandBacteriaPoster."MinnesotaDepartmentofHealth.MinnesotaDepartmentof
Health,Web.01May2015.

Hoyle,Brian."BacteriaCharacteristicsOfBacteria,BacterialGrowth,PhysicalAndChemical
RequirementsForBacterialGrowth,TheRoleOfBacteriaInFermentationAerobic
andAnaerobicBacteria."JRankArticles.Web.01May2015.

Lee,J.Y.,J.W.Choi,andH.Kim."ResultFilters."NationalCenterforBiotechnology
Information.U.S.NationalLibraryofMedicine,26Jan.2007.Web.30Apr.2015.

"WPR."NorthAmericaPopulation2014.Web.01May2015.

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"UnderstandingIntestinalBacteriaGutEcology."IntestinalBacteria.Puristat,Web.1May2015