home .Featured, Microbiology of the Built Environment, News Emily Anthes writes about Wildlife of Your Homes microbiome studies in the New Yorker 

Emily Anthes writes about Wildlife of Your Homes microbiome studies in the New Yorker 

“Every unswept corner of a home tells its own story”. By Bouyoun Kim from the New Yorker Website.

Source: What the Dust in Your House Says About You – The New Yorker

Nice article in the New Yorker by Emily Anthes about the Home Microbiome studies from the Wildlife of Your Homes project.

It has some nice background and quotes including:

  • “Each bit of dust is a microhistory of your life” (Rob Dunn)
  • “We focussed on that because nobody ever cleans it,” Fierer told me. “Or we don’t clean it very often–maybe you’re an exception.” (Noah Fierer)
  • Dogs introduced unique drool and fecal microbes into a home and tracked in soil dwellers from outside (by the author)
  • There’s far more data than the scientists can analyze themselves, so they have posted it all online; members of the public can download the complete data set and hunt for new correlations and patterns (from the author)
  • “In the last twelve thousand years, we all moved from being in houses that were more or less open to the environment to closed-up houses. And yet all of the indications we get are that they’re still full of life.” Even in the smallest studio apartment, we’re never truly alone. (Rob Dunn)

Definitely worth a look

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