Your eyes might be full of bacteria. Here's why that's a good thing

The human body is teeming with bacteria, and a lot of it is good for you. Scientists have shown that the microbiome—a community of bacteria that live in the gut and on other places like skin—can protect people against other disease-carrying bugs.

Now, a new study published by researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) suggests that the eye—previously thought to be barren of microbes—hosts a community of bacteria that protects against disease.