TORONTO – Cellphones have become somewhat of a modern day diary, holding our secrets in text messages, photos and electronic footprints and securing them behind passwords.
But little do we know our trusty handheld devices also hold a secret legend to our ‘dirtiest’ secrets.
Molecular microbiologist Simon Park unlocked the secret world of smartphone bacteria by imprinting mobile phones onto bacteriological growth media in order to determine what kind of bacteria the phones might carry.
“Bacteria can utilize many different things as vectors in order to promote their transmission. Insects, water, food, coughs and sneezes, sexual contact, and rain are just a few examples. The mobile phone appears to be no exception this rule,” wrote Park on his blog, “Exploring The Invisible.”
Park posted photographic evidence of these bacterial secrets on his blog, providing a gross but somewhat artistic look at the germs lurking on our smartphones.
The study was conducted as part of an undergraduate laboratory class that introduces students to bacteria and their importance, both good and bad.
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Though most of the bacteria that were grown from the phones were harmless bacteria associated with human skin, such as the “Micrococcus” species, Park said that occasionally disease causing bacteria, such as “Staphylococcus aureus” were found.
“This is not really surprising as about 20 per cent of us persistently carry this bacterium. In people that carry this bacterium it is usually found in the nostrils and so a furtive pick of the nose, a quick text afterwards, and you end up with this pathogen on your cell phone,” said Park.
One of Park’s favourite photographs distinctly shows the outline of the cellphone, but shows the entire plate covered with a bacterium called “Bacillus mycoides.”
“This pattern of growth is unique to this bacterium and because soil is its natural habitat, we know that this phone or its user had recently been in contact with soil,” said Park.
“Each phone tells a story! If someone had been to the toilet and not washed their hands properly we might similarly find faecal bacteria. Your cell phone flora could thus betray your naughty actions.”
Adding to the “ick” factor of Park’s images is how the photographs were taken.
Park used a macro lens on his DSLR camera, so the images are more or less how the naked eye would see the bacteria.
“You can get an idea of the size because on some of the images you can see the outline of the phones as made by bacteria,” said Park.
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