A single intimate smooch can transfer upwards of 80 million bacteria.
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| WIKIMEDIA, ROBERT & MIHAELA VICOL |
Locking
lips spreads more than just love. A healthy dose of microbes are also
swapped between kissing couples, according to a study published today
(November 17) in Microbe.
Researchers in Amsterdam swabbed the mouths and collected saliva from
21 couples visiting a zoo in the city both before and after they shared
10-second kiss. They found that the couples tended to have similar
microbes inhabiting their mouths, likely because they share kisses,
food, and space on a regular basis. “Apparently, being with somebody for
an extended amount of time and having a relationship leads to a similar
collection of bacteria on the tongue,” Remco Kort, lead author and
biologist at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific
Research, told Time.
But when the researchers had one partner sip a probiotic yogurt drink,
which contains bacteria not normally present in the mouth, prior to
kissing their mate again, they found that an average of 80 million
bacteria were swapped between kissers. “French kissing is a great
example of exposure to a gigantic number of bacteria in a short time,”
Kort told BBC News.
“But only some bacteria transferred from a kiss seemed to take hold on
the tongue. Further research should look at the properties of the
bacteria and the tongue that contribute to this sticking power.”
Tags
probiotic, mouth microbiome, microbiome, microbiology and kissing
| November 17, 2014
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