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City microbes surviving on disinfectants, research reveals

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2024-10-17 10:30:07

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

New research shows microbes in our cities are evolving to resist the very cleaners we use to eliminate them. It also identifies novel strains living in Hong Kong that were previously only found in Antarctic desert soil.

After the recent pandemic, the use of disinfectants has increased, but are efforts to create sterile urban environments backfiring?

A study published in the journal Microbiome has identified novel strains of microbes that have adapted to use the limited resources available in cities and shown that our everyday behavior is changing the makeup of microorganisms in indoor environments.

"Built environments offer distinct conditions that set them apart from natural and engineered habitats," says Dr. Xinzhao Tong, an assistant professor at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China, and lead author of the study.