But perhaps the most bizarre items are anti-bacterial plastic maracas for that germ-free salsa experience.
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The genetic-control question that scares people most, however, is germ-line manipulation or, in tabloid parlance, designer babies.
Researchers then transferred samples from the guts of the three groups of mice into other germ-free mice.
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They found that colonizing an adult germ-free animal with normal gut bacteria had no effect on their behavior.
Wrigley had claimed that magnolia bark extract, an ingredient in the gum and mints, contributed to the germ-killing capabilities.
Recently, it has been shown that germ-cells, too, are subject to epigenetic change, sometimes in response to environmental stimuli.
Pfizer, which always kept a presence in developing new germ-killing drugs, saw its Zyvox become a fast-growing drug in recent years.
Schools, day-care centers, and gyms may harbor the germ -- one reason it's important to get children in the hand-washing habit.
To help mom in her efforts, Kimberly-Clark introduced disposable Kleenex hand towels, to prevent families from sharing the same germ-infected hand towel.
Germ-fighting fixes include inclining patients' beds, disinfecting their mouths and using drugs to prevent ulcers that could cause stomach bacteria to infiltrate the lungs.
PolyMedix, a company that is developing drugs made by a proprietary computational drug design system to mimic natural germ-killing proteins found in humans.
"Germ-free" mice, born without the bugs and protected from their arrival, have shown a number of effects distinct from mice born in the normal way.
But according to Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, of the National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill London, people should not worry unduly over the germ-line alterations.
The longer you remain on a ventilator, the greater the odds that germ-laden gunk from the back of the throat will get sucked into the lungs.
Or is that too difficult to deal with while kvetching over having to stand on bare (and therefore possibly germ-ridden) tile in a magnificent hotel shower?
The contestants include a Caribbean-born transvestite who totters across the mud in stilettos and a germ-phobic choreographer who dons rubber gloves while trying to herd sheep.
Current HVAC systems get rid of stale, germ-ridden indoor air by cooling or heating fresh outdoor air and blowing it through ventilation ducts, a process that gobbles electricity.
First, the discovery of rare, high penetrance germ-line mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 identified a small subset of women with a very high life-time risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
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The inconsistency between the unwillingness to use vaccines and the overuse of germ-killing drugs, soaps, and sprays can be explained in part by our focus on the individual and what we can each control.
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"We know that animals in 'germ-free' conditions can reproduce, they have a longer lifespan, and they seem to live perfectly OK, provided you don't expose them to stress or damage, " said Sven Pettersson, the Karolinska Institute microbiologist who, along with neuroscientist Rochellys Diaz Heijtz, led the research.
But the cells from the first divisions retain the ability to form entire new embryos themselves. (This is how identical twins form.) Germ-line manipulation would require taking some of these early-embryonic cells apart in order to discover what the genetic lottery had delivered to them (a process that would destroy the cells in question).
The addition of a tiny amount of DNA from a third person will be passed down the germ line - through the eggs - to subsequent generations.
The firm recently made headlines by showing that the genome of one bacteria species could be transplanted into a similar one--a step toward making a germ with entirely man-made genes.
News of MSRA spreading at gyms apparently has taken gym-germ fighting up a notch.
Over the past seven years the price for the standard five-germ inoculation (including diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough) has dropped 40%.
Germ theory and knob-less doors have both been around forever.
There are 13 NFL games on Christmas Eve, and five juicy season-opening NBA contests on Christmas Day, and at some point, you're going to be following a game on your TV, or your phone, or your high-tech germ tablet, and a disapproving person is going to scold you and tell you to shut that thing off and show some respect.
This week's meeting may be the germ of a new pan-Latin American club.
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