MicrobeWorld

Americans have been on an antibacterial kick for the past several years. Our hand soap, dish soap, and body wash have morphed into an arsenal of bug-killing napalm, eliminating all but the heartiest of bacteria.

And there are, indeed, some scary microbes crawling around out there—Staph and C. Diff, just to name a couple. But scientists are in the midst of discovering that not all bacteria are bad. In fact, the vast microcosm of life—bacterial, viral and fungal—that lives in and on us is not only mostly harmless but is actually necessary for our own good health.