Microbial samples taken from populations living in the US and Tanzania reveal that the microbiome of the human hand is more varied than previously thought, according to new research. These findings suggest that the 'standard' hand microbiome varies depending on location and lifestyle. Results compared the microbes on the hands of women in the U.S. and Tanzania and found that organisms that have commonly been identified in prior human skin microbiome studies were highly abundant on U.S. hands, while the most abundant bacterial species on Tanzanian hands were associated with the environment, particularly soil.

Source: Human microbiome studies should include wider diversity of populations, experts warn