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Mucus: It’s Snot What You Think

To many people, mucus is nothing more than a gross goo, something to be tossed away in a tissue immediately after clearing your throat or blowing your nose. To scientists, it’s nothing short of a medical marvel — an unsung hero in keeping us healthy, and a potential gold mine for new treatments. “It’s really this masterpiece of biological engineering in my mind,” said Katharina Ribbeck, a professor of biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose lab is dedicated to the study of mucus. The sticky substance is essential to many of the body’s functions. It can help us swallow and digest our food, disarm harmful bacteria and even help build a healthy microbiome.

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  An Ode to the Grossest Bodily Fluid

Mucus can be disgusting. It’s also indispensable.

 Mucus is gross. But here are 9 things you should know about it

Mucus is not widely considered a topic for polite conversation. It’s something to be discreetly blown into a tissue, folded up, and thrown away. But the simple truth is that without mucus, you wouldn’t be alive.

Articles of Interest

A tale of mice and mucus

To banish a cold, kiss a mouse, said Pliny the Elder. The notion evidently didn't catch on with the pharmaceuticals firms of first-century Rome, and Pliny took to studying volcanoes instead. But when it comes to finding a cure for the West's most ubiquitous malady, the depressing truth is that almost 2,000 years later, medical science - despite having eliminated a raft of killer diseases - remains pitifully close to the rodent-snogging stage.

Bacteria's mucus maneuvers: Study reveals how snot facilitates infection

New study shows thicker mucus supercharges bacteria's ability to self-organize into swarms to spread infection.

Decoding Mucus Colors: A Guide to What Your Mucus Is Telling You

Mucus, produced by mucous membranes found throughout the body, serves to protect organs and respiratory passages, such as the nose and mouth. It adds moisture to inhaled air and defends against external particles, bacteria, and viruses. This sticky, watery substance moves continuously through the body, trapping pollutants and viruses, and is expelled through coughing, sneezing, or nose blowing. The color of expelled mucus can offer insights into one's health status.

Don't judge your mucus by its color

"When I blow my nose, it's green, so I'm calling my doctor for some antibiotics." I thought this myth had been debunked long ago. In fact, it has been well established that you cannot rely on the color or consistency of nasal discharge to distinguish viral from bacterial sinus infections, or even whether you're dealing with an infection at all. Seasonal allergies are a good example. They can cause all sorts of nasal discharge — thick or thin, yellow, green, or clear — even though there's no infection at all.

How Spit Heals Wounds

Next time you wake up in a puddle of drool, don’t be repulsed, be thankful.

Marvels of Mucus and Phlegm

Mucus has several names. Snot, the sticky goo that pours from your nose during a cold. Or phlegm, the gunk that can clog your lungs and make you cough. You probably aren’t a fan of the stuff. But mucus is so much more than a runny nose. Your body is making mucus all the time. And it plays an important role in keeping you healthy.

Mucus

Mucus is a slimy hydrogel that lines the mucosal surfaces in our body, including the intestines, stomach, eyes, lungs and urogenital tract. This glycoprotein-rich network is truly the jack of all trades. As a barrier, it lubricates surfaces, protects our cells from physical stress, and selectively allows the passage of nutrients while clearing out pathogens and debris. As a home to our microbiota, it supports a level of microbial diversity that is unattainable with most culture methods.

Mucus: The Body’s Unsung Hero

The slimy stuff has a surprisingly wide array of beneficial biological functions.

Mucus: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We all need mucus to keep our bodies functioning normally. But when you have too much mucus, that’s when the problems can start. Healthy mucus helps to protect, moisten, and defend our airways. Mucus is a part of our body’s frontline defense against infection. It’s produced by the mucus membranes which line your mouth, nose, throat, sinuses and lungs, and it works with your cilia, the tiny hairs which line your airways. Mucus traps particles...

Mucus: Where does it come from and how does it form?

Mucus consists mainly of water and a gel-forming molecule called mucin. The body uses mucus to protect tissues, remove particles, and prevent infections. Mucus is essential for the functioning of many of the body’s organs. A person might think their body only makes mucus in response to illness, allergens, or irritants. However, the body is always producing mucus, which is crucial for the functioning of several organs and the immune system.

Neti Pots Are Great for Flushing Out Snot. Plus, They Won’t Kill You.

The devices have gotten a bad reputation thanks to fear of amoebas, but they’re easy to use safely, and worthwhile.

Research Shows That Mucus Is Your Body’s First Line Of Defense Against Viruses

Mucins are the most abundant protein found in mucus and can either be secreted to form gels that span the surface of the lungs or can exist within epithelial cell membranes. Interestingly, Biering et al. found that only mucins within the cell membrane seemed to have a direct effect on SARS-CoV-2 severity.

Slimy Mucus Is Everywhere—And That’s a Good Thing

From saliva to pathogen-blocking slime, mucus is an integral part of life for dozens of animals. A new study shows that its key building blocks evolved 15 different times across 49 mammals.

Snail mucus is a skin care phenomenon—but does it really work?

Commonly used to repair damaged skin, products containing snail mucus go back much further than the social media era—and may have potential beyond cosmetics.

The Multicolor Signals of Mucus

“When germs that cause colds first infect the nose and sinuses, the nose makes clear mucus,” says a fact sheet published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This helps wash the germs from the nose and sinuses.” After two or three days, the body’s immune cells fight back, changing the mucus to white or yellow. “As the bacteria that live in the nose grow back, they may also be found in the mucus, which changes the mucus to a greenish color,” the C.D.C. says. The green discharge is normal, and contrary to what many people believe, it does not mean that the sufferer needs an antibiotic. An antibiotic is ineffective against a virus, and there is also a risk of producing antibiotic resistance in other disease-causing organisms.

What is 'mucus fishing', the gross de-gunking trend taking over – you guessed it – TikTok?

It's with deep regret that we announce the latest, disturbing TikTok trend: mucus-fishing. Yep, these two words, that we never wanted to see together, refer to a practice that we never want to see again. Mucus-fishing refers to the questionable process of using a cotton bud to extract gunk from your eyeballs. Feeling squeamish? You may want to skip past the following videos.

Why is my snot green? How deep are my sinuses? Fascinating facts about mucus, noses and sprays

The major passages of the upper respiratory tract are lined with a mucous membrane that also contain mucus-producing goblet cells. Mucus (which we commonly call “snot”) is the main source of moisture to humidify the air we breathe in. It also traps smaller particles like pollen or smoke. Hairlike structures called cilia line the mucous membrane and transport the particles trapped in the mucus out of the back of the nose. Cilia beat at ten to 12 times per second, propelling mucus at one millimetre per minute.

Why Mucus and Phlegm Matter in Health and Disease

While most people are only aware of mucus when they are sick, their organs are blanketed with the stuff year-round. And, when it comes to the microbes living in our bodies, mucus is incredibly important. It provides a spatial and nutritional niche for diverse organisms to thrive, while also preventing them from getting too close to host tissues.

Why Oh Why Is There Phlegm?

It begs an answer. The human body is capable of such constant wonder, so much to awe and inspire. And then, phlegm. And not just a little phlegm. Gobs. It's the only word that really describes the whole phlegm experience. So I started asking around, and in so doing have learned that there's a lot more to phlegm than meets the Kleenex. First, some definitions. Phlegm is really just one form of mucus, which the body produces all over the place to perform useful tasks...