These are images that only an electronic eye (an electron microscope in this case) could show us. And you will feel great disgust as soon as you learn what they are. Here (left) is the common “dust mite”. It lives in the millions in our homes, in our clothes, in our sheets and pillows. On the right is something even more horrifying. It is another mite, called Demodex folliculorum… which lives and thrives at the roots of our eyelashes… On everyone’s eyelashes!!! Indeed, the photograph shows in high magnification exactly this: a small piece of eyelid and two Demodex grazing.
Mites are insects. And “mother nature” made them (like many other creatures, viruses, bacteria, etc.) on a “nano” scale—just so that nanotechnologists don’t get cocky about being pioneers. The particular two species live by feeding on the dead cells (of our skin) that we apparently produce so massively that we sustain them in huge herds and for countless generations. The dust ones, for example (called that because they travel on specks of dust… wouldn’t you fancy a Sahara–Rome trip on African dust?), which love our clothes and beds, our dead cells and our sweat, live at densities of 5 to 15 thousand in every square centimetre (of mattress). Every inch and it’s a General Confederation of Greek Workers rally at its peak. The whole mattress? Measure it, multiply, and you’ll see the gigantic company keeping you company even in your deepest loneliness.
Whether on our body or inside it (especially in the stomach and intestines), millions of microorganisms of various kinds live with us. Experts (who of course did not sit down and count them one by one) claim that the genetic load of these tiny co-residents is about 40 times greater than our own “personal” DNA. And if we were to be counted not by genes but by cells, they still outnumber us: they are ten times more numerous than our own. In addition to the well-known genome, we also possess this: the microbiome!
Usually all these microorganisms live in harmony with us (or we with them) as long as they do jobs that benefit them but also serve us. From cleaning our skin of dead cells to aiding digestion. Sometimes, of course, there are “misunderstandings.” Then the itching, skin conditions, and other issues begin. Don’t expect the experts to explain why such misunderstandings happen. Generally speaking, they don’t sit on mite-rights committees. If a chemical company (let’s say “if”…) makes soaps or household cleaners with chemicals that alienate (or kill) our ugly yet helpful skin-garbage men, well, then a misunderstanding may occur. At our expense.
In good times and in bad, however, there is something else that could be important. As a species and as individuals, we are not what we think we are: the high-nosed animal beings who have the universe at their fingertips and almost absolute individual independence. We are rather animal clusters, meeting points and cohabitations of various species; we live because we live in an absolutely close relationship with mites, well-meaning bacteria, lazy viruses, etc.
What is the importance of being aware of this vital animal interconnectedness? If you look again at the photographs, you will wonder “but… with them?!” But yes, with these ugly ones! What’s the difference? Let each and everyone answer (or not answer)…