Vocabulary:
- bacteria /bak-TEER-ee-uh/
- reproduce /ree-pruh-DOOS/
- drastic /DRAS-tik/
- rummage /RUHM-ij/
- figure /FIG-yer/
[noun] very small organisms that are found everywhere and are the cause of many diseases
Bacteria may also spread if antibiotics are used improperly and unnecessarily.
[verb] to produce a new living thing of the same type as itself
The migratory flock of birds come back to the forest to reproduce once a year.
[adjective] severe and sudden or having very noticeable effects
This city was affected by a drastic change of season.
[verb] to search for something by moving things around carelessly and looking into, under, and behind them
The group of investigators rummaged his house after the incident.
[noun] a number that expresses an amount, especially in official documents
The reported figures clearly show who won the presidency.
Accumulative bacteria like molds and mites are found living on smartphone covers according to studies. Covers of smartphones produce a warm platform suitable for bacteria to reproduce in a minute. Just imagine how drastic a bug can replicate itself a million times in just 60 seconds!
A researcher in Osaka Museum of Natural History, Nobuo Hamada, quoted “I think there is no actual harm to the health, but it is necessary to pay a little consideration to cleanliness. If you regularly wipe the inside of the covers, you can drastically decrease the presence of molds.” Hamada examined 116 covers from smartphone users who took part in the research.
From March and April 2014, Hamada performed a research by swabbing a cotton onto the covers using a salt solvent. He rummaged molds from smartphone covers that ranged from 100 to 10,000 molds each and the most decayed carries 560,000 molds. Mold clumps like spider webs were apparently seen from other covers as well. Humidity helps bacteria form lives easily such as Aspergillus, a common mold that lives indoors and outdoors, and blue molds were spotted in phone covers.
Covers used for less than two years carry 26.4 molds while it dramatically swelled to 73.1 molds after more than two years of usage. Next, female users carry 24.0 molds with their smartphone covers which is less than the 28.8 molds from male users’ covers. Lastly, smartphone covers stowed in suitcases had a figure of 20.7 molds, covers stowed in coat’s pockets ran up to 23.8 molds and marked up to 32.5 for covers stowed in trousers.
Though it looks clean on the outside, the cover of the smartphone you have been using might be bugged! Have you checked your smartphone cover yet?
Comprehension Questions:
- Who is the researcher that examined the growth of bacteria on smartphone covers?
- In the article, phone covers used for less than two years contain how many molds?
- According to the article, what kinds of bacteria form easily in the covers because of humidity?
- In Hamada’s research, how did he gather the molds and mites from the smartphone covers?
- How many molds are formed from smartphone covers that are being kept in suitcases, breast pockets, and trousers?
Discussion Questions:
- Do you agree with Nobuo Hamada’s opinion that there is no actual harm to the health of having bugs in smartphone covers? Explain your answer.
- Why do you think smartphone covers are a favorable place for bacteria to reproduce? Please explain your answer.
- Do you think it is possible to diminish bacteria into smartphone covers by simply wiping it regularly? Why or why not?
- How do you keep your personal things clean? Please tell me more about it.
- How important is it to keep our things clean? Elaborate your answer.