跟另一半同居 你的身体会产生什么变化
Couples who live together agree to share a lot of things, like a bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Naturally, when you move in with a partner, everything changes, including your skin bacteria. Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada have found when we live with a significant other, we exchange bacteria, which causes our microbial profile to change. In the study, published in MSystems, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers found each person in the relationship significantly influenced the microbial communities on their partner's skin. Using microbial data, computer algorithms were able to match couples with 86 percent accuracy. The body part most likely to host skin bacteria shared by a couple were the feet. Causality was not analysed, but Canadian researchers believe it could be due to couples walking barefoot on the same surfaces in their house, therefore it's easy to transfer bacteria with each other and their immediate environment. "You shower and walk on the same floor barefoot, and this process likely serves as an effective form of microbial exchange with your partner, and also with your home itself," said Josh Neufeld, study author and a biology professor at the University of Waterloo, in a statement. Individuals have various skin bacterial communities from region to region, but this finding shows factors like cohabitation can actually shape one's microbiome. However, not all of couple's skin regions will share the same microbiome. For example, the study found microbe communities collected from the thighs were more similar between people of the same sex than those who lived together. This may be linked to the fact that bacteria on women's inner thighs are influenced by the vaginal microbiome. Microbiomes are unique, but they can also be easily influenced. Diet, environment, and even simple chance encounters are known to affect the microbiome. It's not surprising to share a bed with someone and have their skin bacteria, since it affects the composition of your own microbial profile. |