Microbes from the Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in New York City come from normal human skin, household surfaces or traces of food. The study stating this fact was published in the open access journal mSphere, from the American Society for Microbiology, Nov 16., analyzing the bacterial activity and its implications.
The results of the study show that the ATM microbes represent proof of how residual DNA from meals can remain on a person's hands, and then be transferred to other surfaces we come in contact with, even several hours later.
ATM Microbes, Mostly From Human Skin
Consequently, there was no significant difference between the microbes from the outdoor and indoor machines, which suggests that the bacteria are highly adaptive to the environment, according to the study.
Every ATM keypad in New York is used by hundreds of people daily. The machines can also come in contact with other different enhancers of their microbial activity, such as air, water and bacteria from other urban surfaces. What the study does is give insight on how the microbial community from the ATMs' keypads compare to any other sources in the city, according to one of the study's authors.
Furthermore, the microbial activity on the ATMs' keypads is lacking diversity in some locations, possibly because of the recurrent cleaning of the machines.
The American Society for Microbiology, one of the partners of the study, has no less than 47,000 specialists united by the mission of contributing to microbial science advancements.
Sampling New York City Microbes
As part of the study, the scientists took samples from 66 ATM machines coming from eight different neighborhoods over the areas of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. The sampling was conducted in June and July 2014, and out of the total number of ATMs, four were outdoors, in order for the scientific team to be able to compare the two types of environments and their impact on the development of bacteria communities.
Fungi, parasites and protists were the main life forms that were subjected to investigations. The most common of the bacteria found on the ATMs' surfaces came from normal human skin.
The following research will be conducted on microbes found on cats, dogs, mice, pigeons and cockroaches. These types of study are important in understanding the type of life styles its inhabitants have and the impact of their environmental activity on the smaller forms of life.
Researches like these are all the more fascinating as every city has its own community of microbes. The reason why the microbial life is so distinct is that people live differently, the climate conditions and industrial activity are particular as well. All these factors heavily influence the way the microbial patterns form.
