I'm trying to clean up my desk this evening due to the yucky weather we are having and ran across this article again from one of my old Organic Gardening articles. I thought you all might like to know about this and maybe feel a little better when the critters (human and animal) come in covered in mud this Spring season!
Proof that dirty fingers lead to clean minds:
A common soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, is an effective vaccine for leprosy. Researchers began to evaluate its value in treating asthma, tuberculosis, and cancer. When cancer patients treated with M. vaccae reported feeling inexplicably happier, neuroscientist Christoper Lowry, Ph.D., of the U.K.'s University of Bristol injected mice with the bacterium, then examined their brains. The mice's immune systems were stimulated, causing brain cells to release serotonin, a mood-altering, pleasure-inducing hormone.
So, dig in and be happy!
