fig1

The BioBE Center just published a white paper, titled “Hand Hygiene in the 21st Century: Cleanliness in Context” that examines the history and current literature on hygiene. Specifically, the paper focuses on the role of hand drying and the debate in the literature surrounding paper towels and electric hand dryers. We posit that the conception of hygiene as a unilateral reduction or removal of microorganisms has outlived its usefulness, and propose a definition that is quantitative, uses modern molecular biology tools, and is focused on disease reduction.  20170102_BioBE_Hygiene_Dyson_summary

Edit 2017.01.11: updated white paper to reflect most recent version, added image.