Question: is there a reason why microbiology smells quite bad?

Alison Graham answered on 13 Jun 2012:

It’s all about gas! When bacteria grow, they sometimes produce by-products that are a bit smelly! These smells can be really helpful in the lab though. I worked for a long time on E. coli and after a while you get to know what E. coli smells like. If your flasks are contaminated with another bacterium that you don’t want, you know instantly because the smell is different! In fact, the smells that people produce (!) are actually caused by the bacteria that live in your gut.