Childhood was a hazy mix of lace and mud — an age of cookie time, horseplay and the occasional cootie shot. It seems like a far cry from the fettered world of adulthood.
But there were darker forces at play, infiltrators that showed up everywhere we were — near us, on us, in us. Some working for the forces of good, some for evil, some on both sides. These secret agents were bacteria.
It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that we adults have endowed bacteria with all our possessive and neurotic qualities. (See Valerie Brown’s “Bacteria ‘R’ Us” in Miller-McCune magazine.) What were once extraordinary and bizarre are now measured on a microbial threat level and sanitized with gallons of antiseptic.
Join us for a sticky-fingered journey through bacteria’s lesser-known work in the shadows. Powerful, haunting and mysterious, these 10 microbes promise a return to the slimy delight of childhood discovery. Simply click on the names listed in the graphic below to learn more about these bacteria:
