We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
YOU MIGHT THINK you’re good at keeping your kitchen surfaces spick and span, but are the surfaces themselves hampering your efforts?
That’s what a student from Limerick is investigating for this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
Ellie Cunnenn (14) from Coláiste Chiaráin has analysed different kitchen surfaces to figure out which stay cleaner for longer.
Her teacher, Edel Farrell, who is supervising the project, said Ellie was first inspired to investigate after a visit to hospital:
Her original idea was she was looking at the different surfaces and wondering about whether bacteria would grow on them after they were cleaned.
However, this is an area which has been well-researched, and hospitals pick surfaces based on how well they can resist microbial growth. The focus was turned instead to kitchen surfaces.
Ellie first steralised a range of different surfaces, measured the amount of bacteria present, dirtied them with a dishcloth, measured again, and finally cleaned the surface and measured at different intervals.
She tested formica (both with ridges and a glass finish), ceramic (with matt and glass finish), marble, granite, quartz, and solid wood.
So far, her results indicate that quartz stayed free of bacteria the longest after being cleaned, but granite prevented the growth of bacteria in the first place better.
Ellie plans to analyse her results further and prepare her presentation ahead of the exhibition next month, where her full results will be published.
We’ll have more coverage of projects ahead of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Good stuff. I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to germs.
I can’t touch the door handles in public toilets without a tissue in my hand. Saw too many lads zip it up and ignore the sink. Arm rests and table trays on airplanes the same them things are turned around so many times a day without cleaning.
@Milk The Drones: Urine is sterile. There are probably more germs on the tissue you are using.
@CrabaRev: absolutely true, unless you have a UTI your urine is totally sterile.
@CrabaRev:
I’ll do it my way and take my chances thanks.
@CrabaRev: Still wouldn`t use it for mouthwash though in fairness
@Pixie McMullen:
Also TV remotes in hotel rooms are another thing I can’t deal with. Think of all the previous digits that mauled it and what they were up to before you checked in. Brutal.
@Milk The Drones: I can totally understand your OCD and overthinking of things mate, but fact is, there are germs absolutely everywhere, everything you touch in the outside world.
But what might help you, would be to carry a mini pack of disinfectant/surgical wipes for when it gets too much – at least you might have some control over your fears, best of luck with it.
While there’s no question that cleanliness is important in places like hospitals and kitchens, I don’t think anyone would be comfortable eating food prepared in a dirty kitchen or being operated upon in a dirty, smelly operating theatre.
So if Ellie Cunnenn can identify surfaces that can resist the growth of bacteria and those that stay clean longest, maybe it’ll be possible to come up with a combination of the two, a surface that’ll both resist bacteria and stay clean as long as possible. And fair play to her, she deserves recognition for this.
However there have been studies in Ireland and other countries that have illustrated that we also need a limited exposure to a small amount of, an Irishism, what our grannies may have called clean dirt. These studies have revealed that children who grow up on dairy farms are less likely to develop allergies such as asthma or hay fever, this is because children who grow up on farms breathe air containing bacterial components which reduces the immune systems reaction to allergens.
The studies identified the presence of a protein (A20) which affects these cells and the way in which they react to an allergen.
According to the research, the A20 protein does not affect the immune system, but it instead affects the structural cells that make up the lining of the lung. To validate the experiment, the group of scientists induced dust mite allergies in mice and found that those were exposed to dust from a dairy farm in early life were immune. The next step of the experiment was to knock out the action of the A20 protein in the lungs of the mice and when this occurred the mice were no longer protected from allergic reactions.
And so, they carried out a further study on 2,000 children who grew up on farms.
They found that those who suffered from allergies had a gene mutation which affected the A20 protein, causing it to malfunction and suffer from allergies such as hay fever and asthma.
It goes against everything we’ve been told to believe, but when our young immune system is developing it needs exposure to a certain amount of “clean dirt”. If we’re raised in a sterile environment, which is increasingly happening, our developing immune systems have no opportunity to recognise it and react to it.
somebody is trying to do something WoW great story??
@Leitrim303: Congrats on your first smart phone for Christmas….long may it last
Anti-bacterial surface, might be worth adding this to your list of test surfaces Ellie
Anti-bacterial surface, might be worth adding this to your list of test surfaces Ellie
The surface chemistry and roughness are probably the two most important factors here. Smoother surfaces have less anchor points for biofilms to develop, so granite isn’t a surprise as it’s usually polished when produced. The cleaning history is also important as any infection control staff will tell you.
There are plenty of studies out there and also a European Action group called AMICI that Ireland is part of.
Happy to help if author(s) want to PM
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say