Books: Fellow Travelers

THE LIFE THAT LIVES ON MAN by MICHAEL ANDREWS 183 pages. Taplinger. $9.95.

In an age of detergents and deodorant soaps, people like to imagine themselves to be germfree. But, as British Science Writer Michael Andrews points out, even the "most radiantly antiseptic housewife" is a walking zoo, covered with billions of bacteria. Fungi, a particularly unappealing form of flora, also find a foothold on Homo sapiens. Almost all humans harbor in their hair follicles microscopic mites, which under high magnification resemble eight-legged alligators. Other, less pleasant organisms, take up temporary residence in...

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