The laboratory assistant has revealed the hidden world of bacteria in a unique video where she showed, what germs are hiding in our personal belongings, including on banknotes and smartphone screens, which we often touch with our hands. Microbiologist Amani Abdlrasoul works as a research assistant at the American Medical laboratories and tests regarding 700 samples daily to detect diseases.
But even Amani was baffled by the germs she found on the $100 bill, describing some of them as creepy and nasty. These colonies of microorganisms, many of which turned out to be staphylococci, grew literally within 24 hours following the microbiologist put a bill in the Petri dish.
It is also interesting that the smell from the discovered bacteria comes from a different one, which sometimes helps biologists to identify individual species. So, E. coli smells the most disgusting, Proteus mirabilis smells like chocolate, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa smells like grapes. The latter is a dangerous pathogen that causes pneumonia and a number of other diseases, while popcorn-smelling staphylococci can cause heart problems.
Although staphylococci are often harmless, in severe cases these pathogens can cause pneumonia, myocarditis, and even bone disease. On money and smartphone screens, these bacteria get from public toilets, vending machines and other surfaces that people touch. Harmful bacteria are everywhere, which is why Amani puts her videos online, hoping that following what they see, people will wash their hands more often.