Learning English

Learning is a lifelong effort. "Consider a language ... language serves to describe a combination of colored squares on a surface. The squares form a complex like a chessboard. There are red, green, white and black squares. The words of the language are 'red', 'green', 'white', 'black', and a sentence is a series of these words. They describe an arrangement of squares in an order." -- Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (20th century)

Toothbrushes have more bacteria than toilet water

Found on Wednesday, June 24, By Tricia Chen, The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Bacterial growth in a standard household toothbrush has been found to be 80 times greater than in toilet water, a pilot study showed.

The report, published in the Australian Dental Journal, studied the microbial contamination of toothbrushes, and results showed that a large amount of bacteria remains and grows on used toothbrushes. "We do not realize how dirty our toothbrushes can get sometimes; it is vital that people are made aware of this," said local dentist Chiu Kuo-chou.

According to the study, bacteria grows faster in humid places, such as Taiwan. Chiu said bacteria can easily be transmitted through a cut in one's mouth to other parts of the body via blood veins. In severe cases, it can lead to diseases such as Sepsis, Chiu added.

Chiu said people should always make sure to not leave toothbrushes head down in cups because that prevents it from getting dry.

Used toothbrushes should be replaced with new ones every three months, he continued.

A new product that launched yesterday claimed to be the first toothbrush that reduces bacteria for as long as 90 days. Its special formula decreases the amount of bacteria that usually forms in toothbrushes.

bacterial (noun) - any one of a group of very small living things that often cause disease

pilot (adjective) - done as a test to see if a larger program, study, etc., should be done

dental (adjective) - of or relating to teeth or to the work dentists do

microbial (adjective) - related to an extremely small living thing that can only be seen with a microscope such as a microorganism

contamination (noun) – is the act or process of contaminating or making (something such as a toothbrushes) dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it

vital (adjective) - extremely important or crucial

aware (adjective) - knowing that something (such as a situation, condition, or problem) exists

humid (adjective) - having a lot of moisture in the air

transmit (verb) - to cause (a virus, disease, etc.) to be given to others

via (preposition) - by means of (a person, machine, etc.) : by using (something or someone)

vein (noun) - any one of the tubes that carry blood from parts of the body back to the heart

prevent (verb) - to stop (something) from happening or existing
Posted by TP

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