Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Fairfield & Southern Litchfield Counties

Dirt Houses Cancer-Protective Microbe: Soil Contains Bacteria That Kills Melanoma

stockcreations/Shutterstock.com

A bonus to gardening: Soil commonly contains bacteria that produce a molecule called mensacarcin that kills melanoma cancer cells, according to research from Oregon State University. Few therapies treat this skin cancer, so contact with dirt is an easy choice.


This article appears in the September 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.