In other words, they reduce the effect of the tiny germs that protect your body from dangerous germs.

It is, perhaps, a rite older than the human race, the tiny germ from which all religious observances have sprung.

But dozens, hundreds, thousands of tiny germs of dissent must linger, forming pockets of conflict throughout the Colonies.

For there could be the tiniest germ of an idea that he might miss otherwise.

The tiny germ of an idea crystallized, and she smiled broadly.

A tiny germ of unease was creeping into my frontal lobe.

Mr. Soderbergh understood that all he had to do was show some finesse and he could get away with this low-blood-pressure heist picture, keeping the tiny germ of a story about hitting the casinos.

Reynolds often hires many market researchers to devise "the weirdest, most off-the-wall stuff you could come up with, and there may be a tiny germ of an idea in there that's useful," said Ms. Payne.

As is so often the case, there is the tiniest germ of truth present, but an insufficient amount to justify the tale.

Last year at the American Urological Association meeting, 1,500 physicians signed a petition to the Food and Drug Administration extolling the virtues of a tiny germ that causes tuberculosis in cows.