💬 Quoted: “[U]nlike anything we’ve seen before.”

A quote like this is probably not something you want to hear in reference to your bathroom. But alas – as documented in a study published this week in the journal Frontiers in Microbiomes, researchers swabbed people’s toothbrushes and showerheads and found them brimming with 600+ different viruses, many of which have never been discovered until now.

But no need to panic (here’s a chill pill if you need it:💊): The viruses in question – bacteriophages – aren’t dangerous to people. But to certain bacteria they’re like Rambo; the name bacteriophage literally means “bacteria eater.”

And this quality can potentially be very beneficial. As outlined in Gizmodo:

• Scientists have started to study and deploy phages as treatments for bacterial infections, particularly bacteria that have evolved to resist antibiotics.
• The good and bad news: there’s a lot to sift through. When examining the showerheads and toothbrushes, the researchers discovered different phage on each toothbrush and showerhead. “Th[e] amount of diversity is huge, and it isn’t because of anything specific to toothbrushes or showerheads. There are just so many phage out there waiting to be [found],” according to lead researcher Erica Hartmann, a microbiologist and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern.

🦠 Zoom out: Scientists estimate there are likely ~1 trillion species of microbes on Earth, 99.9% of which remain undiscovered.

🤒 Stat of the Day: What do vinyl records and the average human body have in common? They’re both getting cooler. In recent decades, scientists have discovered mounting evidence that the average human body temperature is slightly below the long-held baseline of 98.6°F. The previous standard was established 150+ years ago by German physician Dr. Carl Wunderlich, who reportedly based it on measurements from 25,000 people. However, a study published in September that evaluated the temperatures of 126,000+ people found their average temp stood at 97.9°F – and other modern-day studies have also reported similar numbers.

🤔 Did You Know? Penguins have an extremely fast metabolism, and poop roughly once every eight minutes (or ~7x per hour).

📰 Worth a Read: Ozempic underworld: Inside the black market of obesity drugs → (CNBC)