Tags: bacteria
Categories: Pseudo-explanations
An example of anthropomorphism in popular science writing:
"…like many of us, P. acnes [Propionibacterium acnes] is a lipophile, which is to say it adores consuming fat. The sebum on our skin is like a layer of buttery, greasy goodness that has P. acnes smacking its lips. However, when P. acnes turns up to dine it has some seriously bad table manners, which can include dribbling chemicals all over our faces… [non-human] animal sebum lacks the triglyceride fats that P. acnes loves to picnic on."
Catherine Carver
Carver, C. (2017). Immune. How your body defends and protects you. Bloomsbury Sigma.
Read examples of anthropomorphism in science
