Mass timber may have antimicrobial benefits that could make it useful for hospital construction, according to a recent study from the University of Oregon. The research team found that when wood was exposed to a brief wetting, it tested lower for levels of bacterial abundance than an empty plastic enclosure used as a control. “People generally think of wood as unhygienic in a medical setting,” said Mark Fretz, assistant professor, co-director of the University of Oregon’s Institute for Health in the Built Environment and principal investigator for the study. “But wood actually transfers microbes at a lower rate than other less porous materials such as stainless steel.”