When I was a kid, my parents told me that everyday items are always filled with bacteria, such as banknotes, tabletops, keyboards, smartphones, floor (pick up your fallen food within 5 seconds or it will be infected with bacteria), I grew up told there are millions of bacteria under the fingernails all the time, is this really true? How can they be always there and survive that long if they are on the floor, banknotes etc.? They are living organisms, need to eat something, right? For my thinking there is nothing to eat on the banknotes normally. Can anyone bust this myth or confirm? Thanks in advance.
In: Biology
Bacteria are *everywhere*. They are fantastically good at survival and reproduction, and some of them can survive in absurdly extreme conditions. Their populations are therefore enormous and constantly surging. This prevalence is why other organisms all had to evolve ways to both defend themselves from bacteria (as in elaborate multifactor immune systems) and benefit from the presence of bacteria (as in harboring them in digestive systems).
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