"That thought might make a lot of people lunge for the hand sanitizer, but that impulse may be exactly the wrong one.
Researchers are amassing a growing body of evidence
indicating that microbial ecosystemsplay crucial roles in keeping us healthy.
Moreover, scientists are becoming more convinced that modern trends — diet, antibiotics, obsession with cleanliness,
Caesarean deliveries — are disrupting this delicate balance, contributing to some of the most perplexing ailments,
including asthma, allergies, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer and perhaps even autism"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/microbes-may-play-crucial-role-in-human-health-researchers-discovering/2011/09/24/gIQA5AembL_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend