Dirty, smelly. Perhaps, erroneously, in the collective imagination these two adjectives are associated with chimpanzees. Qualities that we should report more to humans according to the results of an interesting new study, which examined the amount of microbes present in our beds and in the beds of chimpanzees.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Dirty, smelly. Perhaps, erroneously, in the collective imagination these two adjectives are associated with chimpanzees. Qualities that we should report more to humans according to the results of an interesting new study, which examined the amount of microbes present in our chimpanzee beds and beds.
The latter (Pan troglodytes) in fact seem to keep their nests cleaner than humans. This is the result of the research conducted by Megan Thoemmes of North Carolina State University. The study looked at the microbes and arthropods found in the tree beds that chimpanzees make every night.
"We know that human homes are actually their ecosystems and the beds we sleep in often contain a subset of the taxa - or types - of organisms that populate our homes." he said Thoemmes. "For example, about 35% of the bacteria found in human beds come from our own body, including fecal, oral and skin bacteria."
Scientists wanted to know how chimpanzees, our closest relatives in terms of evolution, behave. During a stay in Tanzania, the team of researchers swabbed 41 "beds" or nests of chimpanzees. Swabs were used to test for microbial biodiversity. Furthermore, in 15 of them the researchers tried to identify the possible presence of arthropods, such as insects and arachnids.
The results showed that the chimpanzee beds had a biodiversity different from that of humans, with a greater variety of microbes. However, it must be said that the multiplicity of microbial life also reflected the different environments in which the nests were made.
But one fact about them all surprised the scientists: the chimpanzee beds had less likely to harbor fecal, oral, or skin bacteria.
"We hardly found any of those microbes in chimpanzee nests, it was surprising," Thoemmes commented. "We also expected to see a significant number of arthropod parasites, but they didn't."
In all the nests examined, the researchers found only four parasites, four individual specimens. In our defense, however, it must be said that our distant relatives build a new nest every night and also take care to bend over to the side when they defecate.
According to the researchers, our attempts to create a clean environment may actually make the same environment less ideal. So much for the excess of hygiene to which we often bend.
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Francesca Mancuso
