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It is easy to think that the idea of an "aura" that surrounds us strictly belongs to the plane of esotericism.
A quick search on the internet gives dozens of tips for "clean up the aura" and "repel negative energies". And this may be the only context in which you have seen the word, usually associated with emotions and how they can affect your physical and mental well-being.
But, aside from esotericism, science has demonstrated the existence of an individual "living aura": it's called a human expo and has nothing to do with spiritual energies.
The term describes this personal cloud of microorganisms, chemical elements and other compounds that accompany us wherever we are.
The exhibition is at the center of a study developed by a group of geneticists from Stanford University (California, USA) for five years.
And while science has already come to terms with this concept, the research, published in the scientific journal Cell in mid-October, showed that it is possible to measure "at an individual level" the elements of Environment to which each person is exposed.
Michael Snyder – who was behind the study – said that the most relevant "is that these steps can make a big difference in the way of studying and preventing conditions such as l & rsquo; Asthma and Allergies ", which greatly contributes to the field of health.
L & # 39; s experience
For their experiment, the researchers fabricated a small air monitor and attached it to the arm of 15 volunteers exposed at different locations as the device absorbed samples of their personal orbits and the environment that was theirs. surroundings.
The elements collected by the device (bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.) gave DNA and RNA sequences that formed a unique chemical profile for each volunteer.
By the end of the study, which included hundreds of thousands of reads, the researchers managed to accumulate a large amount of data on the components of their own exposome.
Snyder himself, who used one of the devices during the study, discovered that his was present in compounds such as eucalyptus pollen, presumably at the same time. origin of an allergy that he had suffered in the past.
Individual cloud
Before Snyder and his team shared the results of their research, what was known about human exposure is that individuals are certainly exposed to a variety of elements in the environment.
However, measures in this regard have only been developed on a large scale and not at an individual level.
"That's why we are focusing primarily on the PM2.5 particles present in the atmosphere, which result from contamination and end up being absorbed into the lungs," says Chao Jiang, another authors of the study.
Until now, the exponent had also been analyzed only in fixed locations in the city, where a device was taking an air sample.
"We can now track what everyone is exposed to, wherever they are," says Snyder.
The volunteers traveled to different areas of San Francisco Bay and it was shown that even when they were in the same place, their exposomes were different.
This confirms that each individual is surrounded by his own microbial cloud, which collects and dissipates continuously around him.
The authors of the study agree that the greatest contribution of this new information will be in the area of human health, which is not only determined by genetic factors, but also by environmental factors.
Available for all
"Many genetic factors have been studied, but little is known about the effects of environmental exposure on people's health," said Jiang.
The scientist thinks that this new deepening of the knowledge of the human exposome will be essential to understanding and even preventing diseases such as cancer, asthma, allergies and some heart and respiratory diseases.
In fact, one of the most relevant conclusions from the exhaustive survey is that insect repellent particles were found in all samples collected.
"People could take this compound – we do not know how toxic it is for health – as well as diethylene glycol, which is highly carcinogenic and found everywhere," Snyder says.
He, Jiang and his other companions have not finished studying the "living aura" that surrounds us. "We want to make a cheaper device, so that everyone can associate their exhibitions with the environment," said Jiang.
"Conditions such as asthma and allergies can be much better controlled if we are able to understand the reaction of these patients," he says.
In the medium term, the team also plans to implement this technology in locations most exposed to environmental contagion, such as hospitals and day care centers.
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