Secret Life of Germs

“The number of these animalcules in the scurf of a man’s teeth are so many, that I believe they exceed the number of men in a kingdom.”
–Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, 1684
Quoted in Philip Tierno, The Secret Life of Germs

Anyone in their right mind would know Leeuwenhoek had to have been wrong. How could he know? He was probably guessing.

Whereas Tierno, highly acclaimed and respected microbiologists, will update us with modern science, the humorous poet, Ogden Nash, has his own take on germs.

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than a pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep inside the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

Tierno tells us:

There are more germs in our intestines than there are stars in the sky, some thousand billion germs per gram of matter. The number of germ cells in the human body actually exceeds the number of body cells by a factor of ten. And the combined weight of microscopic germs exceeds the combined weight of all living animals and plants.

He continues, saying: “Germs are so important in the ecology of the world that alien observers might conclude that they are the dominant life form on our planet.” And again, “In fact, there are more germs in the intestinal tract of a human being than the number of people who have ever lived.”

And yet, we are able to coexist with this unimaginable mass of microbes. You would think they would do us in, and, worldwide, they are the number-one killer ( In the U.S. they are number three). But, as most of us already know, there are good germs and bad germs and we could not survive without the good ones. But the bad ones are always at the gate, attempting to get in.

Ordinarily germs, good and bad, coexist in a system of checks and balances, with only a fine line between, and the bad guys cross that line every chance they get.

So what? Two suggestions, and maybe more. First, Mother was right. Wash your hands often, especially after using the bathroom. This may sound so commonplace that you dismiss me as if I were kind of kindergarten teacher speaking to mature adults in kindergarten platitudes. Maybe so, but research indicates that more than 60 percent of people fail to wash their hands after using public restrooms, and less than 10 percent wash them very well. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, they have a slogan: “The ten worst sources of contagion are our fingers.”

I suggest, in the second place, that you either obtain a copy of the book, or check it out from your public library (if they don’t have it, they can get it for you on interlibrary loan). It is a very well-written, easy and enjoyable reading.

[I’ll come back and write a little more after lunch. I’ve just been told I have five minutes. I’ve got to wash my hands.]
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The eighth chapter of the biblical book of Psalms raises a question that goes something like this:

O Lord, when I look at the night sky and the work of your fingers–
the moon and stars you put in place–
what are people that you should think about them,
mere mortals that you should care for them?

The great philosopher, Immanuel Kant said there were two things that filled him with awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.

The old cowboy, at “home on the range,” sang his wonder:

How often at night, ‘neath the heavens so bright,
by the light of the glittering stars
have I stood there amazed, and asked as I gazed
if their glory exceeds that of ours.

The great philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, felt “engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof I know nothing, and which know nothing of me. I am terrified. The eternal silence of these infinite spaces alarms me.”

I live “deep in the heart of Texas” where “the stars at night are big and bright.” On dark nights, away from city lights, I’ve looked at the stars with wonder; I am a kinsman to the psalm writer, the cowboys, and the philosophers.

But when I learn from Tierno about the world of microorganisms, a world those in prior centuries did not know, I can be terrified, alarmed, filled with awe, and wonder about the place of us humans in this world of incredible biodiversity. I am certain that God loves diversity, that in his creation he has been extravagant, and that our appropriate response to it all is wonder, awe, humility, modesty, and grateful for having a place amid these riches. These risky, dangerous, adventurous, challenging, and exciting riches.

It is with great risk that we ever tamper with it. We put ourselves in peril every time we modify God’s creations for our real or supposed benefit. The good germs and the bad germs live within us always in tension, always facing the possibility that the bad will cross that fine line. Sometimes the good germs are unprepared for an attack. Sometimes the bad germs win and we go down in hopeless defeat.

The “balance” of nature is a dynamic, ever-changing balance. As the 21st Century begins, the balance of cultures, societies, and nations is tilting dangerously. To use Tierno’s term, the threat is pandemic. Some us, perhaps many of us will go down before the tensions can be balanced. We’ve known dark ages before. Sometimes centuries have to pass.

Wash your hands, be aware, and try to be good to a stranger.