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IrelandNOVA reconsiders the all-out war on germs
A segment from 2018's NOVA Wonders joins new explorations of Einstein's timekeeping and the evolution of movement.
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Have We Been Fighting the Wrong Germs? | NOVA | PBS
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- 0:24Leeuwenhoek's early microscopes reveal tiny organisms he calls "animalcules."
- 3:26Fleming's 1928 discovery of penicillin opens the antibiotic chapter of humanity's relationship with microbes.
- 5:27The focus shifts from fighting pathogens to questioning whether all bacteria deserve the same treatment.
- 8:29Researchers examine Indiana Amish communities to investigate links between farm environments and immune responses.
- 10:18Animations illustrate how exposure to diverse bacteria may help train the immune system not to overreact.
Not every microbe is trouble. NOVA PBS Official's most-watched new upload revisits how the discovery of disease-causing organisms became a much broader campaign against germs, then asks what that campaign overlooks.
"Have We Been Fighting the Wrong Germs? | NOVA | PBS" has drawn about 147,000 views. Originally produced for NOVA Wonders in 2018, the segment features hosts Talithia Williams and Rana el Kaliouby and follows a history stretching from Leeuwenhoek's microscopic "animalcules" to Fleming's penicillin. Microbiologist Jack Gilbert supplies the useful complication: microbes themselves have been making antibiotics for billions of years.
The turn comes after the historical victories, when cleaners and sanitizers give way to questions about helpful bacteria and immune-system training. Viewers are discussing childhood afternoons outdoors, the rise of antibacterial soap and the distance between discovering microbes and understanding them. Some also point out that the extract ends just as the modern research gets interesting.
Across six uploads, NOVA found room for rather different scales of discovery. Athena Bresnberger hosts "The Einstein Time Glitch | What the Physics?!", whose starting puzzle is why your head is older than your feet. It currently draws the most daily views of any individual upload on the channel. Meanwhile, "Evolution: On the Run | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS" traces movement from early muscles to the running machinery of horses.
The subscriber count held steady over the week, while daily views sit modestly above their usual level. October's possible-dwarf-planet film also remains active, approaching three million views as the channel's attention moves between the microscopic world and the far side of Pluto.
President of Applied Microbiology International, a UK scientific society that promotes practical uses of microbiology in health, agriculture, industry and the environment.
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What viewers say
The gap between discovering microbes and understanding what they do is a fascinating part of this history.
@AdvantestIncSee it on YouTubeWhen the "antibacterial" soaps became more popular in the 90s, I wondered why regular soap was all of a sudden "not enough."
@S-M-9See it on YouTubeIf you ever feel alone in this world, don't worry. You have trillions and trillions of bacteria keeping you company 🥰
@PCCH34See it on YouTube
2 more comments
The book "I Contain Multitudes" by Ed Yong covers a lot of ground in discussing microbes and the many microbiomes each of us carry inside us. We co-evolved with these things and they are not, usually, our enemy. I no longer think of "anti-bacterial" as automatically desirable in a product.
@tadmarshall2739See it on YouTubeI can imagine Madonna singing Living in a Bacterial World
@annettegustafson1435See it on YouTube
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- NOVA PBS Official
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- Channel views, last 7 days
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- Videos published this week
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- Video published
- November 10, 2026
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- 147,331
- Views on its first day
- 64,005
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💡 Test your knowledge
Which scientist discovered penicillin in 1928?
Fleming's discovery of penicillin is a turning point explored in NOVA's microbial history.