Do Farts Carry Germs?

When you fart, are you spraying microbes all over? Should we fear the effects of flatulence in a crowd? Science is on the question!

“It all started with an enquiry from a nurse,” Dr Karl Kruszelnicki told listeners to his science phone-in show on the Triple J radio station in Brisbane. “She wanted to know whether she was contaminating the operating theatre she worked in by quietly farting in the sterile environment during operations, and I realised that I didn’t know. But I was determined to find out.”

The upshot is that if people fart while wearing clothes, you’re pretty safe. But fart naked, and it’s a whole different story. And you’ll want to read that story of the experiment by which Dr. Kruszelnicki found the answer at Discover magazine. Oh, the things that researchers do in the name of science! -via Digg


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That makes sense. I can see someone doing this in the privacy of their home, The article only says Dr. Kruszelnicki "devised" the experiment together with Luke Tennent. They could have easily done that part over the phone or by email. Calling one's young son a "colleague" would be just a way to protect the kid's privacy.
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Dr. Karl's story has changed with the telling. I subscribe to his podcast. On radio, he did not say he collaborated in the experiment and that the test subject was not a colleague but the researcher's young son.
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