![Give Your Home The Probiotic Makeover](https://cdn.magzter.com/1390553155/1639985489/articles/61fa6aa2083a8/Health.jpg)
For generations, we’ve dealt with the bacteria and other microorganisms we share our homes within one way: wipe them out. By pouring or spraying something onto household surfaces we keep germs away and stay healthy. It’s a tactic that many of us have ramped up during the pandemic to keep the SARS-CoV-2 virus at bay. But there’s growing evidence that we need to take an entirely different approach to these microbes. While there’s no doubt that some of the microorganisms that live among us are harmful (and nobody is suggesting that cleaning isn’t a good way to keep the likes of SARS-CoV-2 out of our homes) there’s growing evidence that many of them are actually doing us good.
The thing is, we’ve been unwittingly meddling with the microbes we share our living rooms, kitchens and outdoor spaces with, creating hostile environments for those beneficial bugs. It means that while the idea of using probiotics in our bodies has been around for a while, soon we might be giving our homes and our cities the probiotic treatment too.
WHAT’S IN THE SOUP?
Research to characterise the invisible microbial soup that we live in has taken off over the past decade. In May 2021, the results of a giant research project that involved 900 scientists and volunteers taking swabs of the microbes living on ticket machines, railings and seats in subways, buses and trams in 60 cities around the world was published. This audit of urban microbial life found no fewer than 10,928 viruses and 1,302 bacteria that had not been identified before.
Denne historien er fra Volume 14 - Issue 1-utgaven av BBC Earth.
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Denne historien er fra Volume 14 - Issue 1-utgaven av BBC Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![World's First Malaria Vaccine](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e06e2cc2a1/crp_WORLDS-FIRST-MALARIA-VACCINE.jpg)
World's First Malaria Vaccine
The World Health Organization’s director-general hails ‘historic moment’ as mass immunisation of African children begins
![Is River Pollution Putting The Species In Jeopardy Again?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e0d80e1ce1/crp_HOME-BUT-NOT-QUITEDRY.jpg)
Is River Pollution Putting The Species In Jeopardy Again?
Ten years ago, it was jubilantly announced that o ers had returned to every county in England. But is river pollution putting the species in jeopardy again?
![The Big Burnout](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e03ab6c987/crp_THE-BIG-BURNOUT.jpg)
The Big Burnout
Long hours, low pay and a lack of appreciation — among other things — can make for a stressful workplace and lead to burnout. It’s something we should all be concerned about, because over half of the workforce reports feeling it
![Putting Nature To Rights](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e1ab0c769b/crp_PUTTING-NATURE-TO-RIGHTS.jpg)
Putting Nature To Rights
More countries are enshrining the right to a clean environment into law. So if a company or government is impinging upon that right, you could take them to court
![Mega Spaceship: Is It Possible For China To Build A Kilometre-Long Spacecraft?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e0571402e3/crp_MEGA-SPACESHIP-IS-IT-POSSIBLE-FOR-CHINA-TO-BUILD-A-KILOMETRE-LONG-SPACECRAFT.jpg)
Mega Spaceship: Is It Possible For China To Build A Kilometre-Long Spacecraft?
Buoyed on by its successful Moon missions, China has launched a five-year study to investigate the possibility of building the biggest-ever spacecraft
![Are We Getting Happier?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e1bf1d38d0/crp_ARE-WE-GETTING-HAPPIER.jpg)
Are We Getting Happier?
Enjoying more good days than bad? Feel like that bounce in your step’s getting bigger? HELEN RUSSELL looks into whether we’re all feeling more cheery…
![“Unless the Japanese got the US off their backs in the Pacific, they believed they would face complete destruction”](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e0a823ca13/crp_Unless-the-Japanese-got-the-US-off-their-backs-in-the-Pacific-they-believed-they-would-face-complete-destruction.jpg)
“Unless the Japanese got the US off their backs in the Pacific, they believed they would face complete destruction”
Eighty years ago Japan’s surprise raid on Pearl Harbor forced the US offthe fence and into the Second World War. Ellie Cawthorne is making a new HistoryExtra podcast series about the attack, and she spoke to Christopher Harding about the long roots of Japan’s disastrous decision
![Your Mysterious Brain](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e138786c0d/crp_YOUR-MYSTERIOUS-BRAIN.jpg)
Your Mysterious Brain
Science has mapped the surface of Mars and translated the code for life. By comparison, we know next to nothing about what’s between our ears. Over the next few pages, we ask leading scientists to answer some of the most important questions about our brains…
![Why Do We Fall In Love?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e16c2e3b76/crp_WHY-DO-WE-FALL-IN-LOVE.jpg)
Why Do We Fall In Love?
Is it companionship, procreation or something more? DR ANNA MACHIN reveals what makes us so willing to become targets for Cupid’s arrow
![Detecting the dead](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5447/878537/621e159a177ad/crp_Detecting-the-dead.jpg)
Detecting the dead
Following personal tragedy, the creator of that most rational of literary figures, Sherlock Holmes, developed an obsession with spiritualism. Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry explore the supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle