News Microbes

More than 100 bacteria species can flourish in microwave ovens

The microbes turned up in swabs of 30 microwave ovens in different settings

an photo of a microwave

Microwave ovens can harbor thriving bacterial communities that have somehow adapted to the harsh environment, a new study reports.

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By Abdullahi Tsanni

Even the microwave oven in your kitchen is not immune to bacteria.

The irradiating environment within a microwave oven might seem inhospitable to microbes. But swabs from microwave ovens in several different locales identified over 100 bacterial strains, researchers report August 7 in Frontiers in Microbiology.