Too clean is unhealthy

Immune-mediated diseases, such as allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases, have increased with urbanisation. Researchers suggest that the reason for this is the excessive cleanliness of our environment, as a result of which we have lost touch with nature and its microbes. Adjunct Professor Olli Laitinen studies the health effects of microbial exposure at Tampere University. He also serves as Chief Science Officer at Uute Scientific Ltd. The company produces an extract containing inactivated microbes, which can be used as a raw material in cosmetics, for example.