In both cases men (who are hairier than women, as measured by the density of follicles and the length of the vellus hair) were better off than women when the bugs were released on unshaven patches of skin, though there was no significant difference between the sexes when they were shaved.
Two final-stage trials, each covering a thousand patients with staph skin infections, aim to clinch a more definitive difference, with results due this summer.