Boy germs? Men have more bacteria in offices than women do - USA TODAY

Humans are good at spreading bacteria around -- but men may be better at it than women, at least at work, a new study suggests.

Surfaces in men's offices are covered in 10% to 20% more bacteria than those in women's offices, say researchers who swabbed chairs, phones, computer mice, keyboards and desktops in 90 offices in New York, San Francisco and Tucson, Ariz.

The 500 types of bacteria found were exactly the sort researchers expect to find any place humans hang out -- and included those commonly found on skin, in noses and mouths, in digestive tracts and, yes, in feces. Bacteria found in soil (which we all carry from place to place on our shoes and clothes) were also in the offices. Phones and chairs were the germiest spots.

That sounds icky. But there's no reason to freak out or to start going to the office (or your male colleague's office) in a hazmat suit. The whole point of the study, researchers say, was to take a bacterial snapshot of normal, healthy workplaces -- so that they can recognize abnormal bacterial invasions when they see them (when, for example, investigating an illness outbreak in a workplace).

But why the male/female difference? Are guys just dirtier? That's one theory: "Men are known to wash their hands and brush their teeth less frequently than women, and are commonly perceived to have a more slovenly nature," the researchers write in the journal PLoS One.

But lead researcher Scott Kelley, a microbiologist at San Diego State University, tells the Canadian Press that he favors a less insulting explanation: Guys are just bigger, so they carry a bigger, but mostly benign, bacterial load.

Though the researchers are playing down the ick factor, it's worth noting that this study was partly funded by Clorox, a company that makes disinfecting wipes and other products you might be tempted to use on those germy phones and chair rests. And if the findings sound familiar, it might be because one of the researchers was busy just days ago publicizing another study funded by another cleaning products company that found lots of germ-friendly gunk coating the faucets, microwave handles and refrigerator doors in office break rooms.

Telecommuting, anyone?