Last week, Rob Dunn posted a thought-provoking piece on the hygiene hypothesis that made me wonder... what will the shelves of the supermarket cleaning aisle look like in twenty years? How will Proctor & Gamble respond to the mounting research that says some bacteria in our lives is not only good, but necessary? Obviously, they will have a problem on their hands. Suddenly anti-bacterial everything will be shunned and they'll be forced to revise their tack or risk losing the hearts and minds (and especially the OCD tendencies) of the American public. Somehow, I think they'll come up with something. Dirty Floor-ox Bacterial Wipes, anyone?
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Kalliopi Monoyios
Kalliopi Monoyios is an independent science illustrator. She has illustrated several popular science books including Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish and The Universe Within, and Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True. Find her at www.kalliopimonoyios.com.
