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BEING caked in germs sounds unpleasant, but "friendly" bacteria living on our skin may play a vital role by keeping in check the inflammation triggered by injury and unwanted bacteria.
The discovery extends the list of bacteria that the human body relies on to function. It also suggests that antibacterial hand gels and soaps might exacerbate skin conditions characterised by excessive inflammation.
The most common family of bacteria found on the skin is Staphylococcus, the members of which are often harmless, unless they get into wounds. To see if they might actually be useful to humans, Richard Gallo at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues added molecules released by Staphylococcus to cells found in human skin.
They found that one molecule, called lipoteichoic acid (LTA), stopped some skin cells from releasing chemicals ...
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