{"id":1235782,"date":"2022-10-27T07:48:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T07:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/27\/dont-freak-out-but-a-study-just-found-that-microscopic-organisms-have-sex-on-our-faces-while-were-asleep\/"},"modified":"2022-10-27T07:48:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T07:48:25","slug":"dont-freak-out-but-a-study-just-found-that-microscopic-organisms-have-sex-on-our-faces-while-were-asleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/27\/dont-freak-out-but-a-study-just-found-that-microscopic-organisms-have-sex-on-our-faces-while-were-asleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t freak out but a study just found that microscopic organisms have sex on our faces while we\u2019re asleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The human body is fascinating. There are some truly disturbing and even creepy things about it that would sound like fiction if we didn\u2019t know better.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure we have once wondered what life would be like if we could see all the micro-organisms around us. <\/p>\n

Not a sight I am particularly keen on ever seeing, but a study titled \u201cHuman follicular mites: ectoparasites becoming symbionts\u201d published on Oxford Academic has now cemented a disturbing image of microscopic mites that live in our pores and mate on our faces.<\/p>\n

In the study, it was found that while we are sleeping, these tiny creatures come out and have sex to make more mites. Yes, you heard that correctly \u2013 our faces are a sex dungeon, so to speak.<\/p>\n

Dr Alejandra Perotti, co-author and associate professor in invertebrate biology at the University of Reading in the UK, says the in-depth study of the Demodex folliculorum DNA reveals that due to their isolated existence with no exposure to external threats or competition to infest host or encounters with other mites with different genetic make-up, they have become extremely simple organisms powered by proteins to survive, which is what causes them to shed unnecessary genes and cells.<\/p>\n

The microscopic organisms feed on the sebum that is naturally produced by pore-lining cells and are found in hair follicles on the face, in the nipples, and even in the eyelashes. In search of a mate, they become active at night and move between follicles.<\/p>\n

@Gabino Iglesias tweeted: \u201cThings are rough, so it\u2019s the perfect time to remind all of you that you\u2019re not alone. Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, the microscopic mites that call your face home, will come out to feed, burrow, breed, and poop all over your face tonight. You are loved. Sweet dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Things are rough, so it\u2019s the perfect time to remind all of you that you\u2019re not alone. Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, the microscopic mites that call your face home, will come out to feed, burrow, breed, and poop all over your face tonight. You are loved. Sweet dreams.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gabino Iglesias (@Gabino_Iglesias) February 24, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It makes sense that people would be a little frightened after learning what creatures are doing to their faces while they are asleep.<\/p>\n

One user commented: \u201cMicroscopic mites party harder than I do these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, co-leader of the study, Dr Henk Braig, from Bangor University and the National University of San Juan, argued that despite the mites\u2019 gruesome nature, they play \u201csimple but important beneficial roles\u201d like maintaining pores in our skin and so shouldn\u2019t be condemned and blamed for their existence.<\/p>\n

Read the latest issue of IOL Health digital magazine here.<\/p>\n

Source <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n