Are Airplanes Really a Microbial Playground?

Crying babies, chronic snorers -- they're the usual targets of our displeasure when we fly. But, the real villains of the sky might be germs. Flyers are packed into a cramped metal tube for hours on end where movement is limited. It seems like a microbe's playground. But research on the topic is a bit inconclusive, despite worrying cases involving SARS and an aggressive type of influenza. Studies suggest that caution is warranted, but researchers have so far had trouble saying exactly how