SMRTR Science & EngineeringDec 4, 2025Nautilus

The Air In Hospitals and On Airplanes Is Cleaner Than You Think

SMRTR summary

Northwestern University researchers analyzed used face masks from airplanes and hospitals to study air quality, discovering that both environments contain mostly harmless skin bacteria rather than dangerous pathogens. The 407 microbes detected were primarily benign organisms like those naturally found on human skin, though concerning antibiotic-resistant genes were also present in both locations.

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