Built environment and more at MSA2016

The Mycological Society of America’s annual meeting (program) was held at UC Berkeley this year with the theme of “Sequencing the Environment.” The Sloan Foundation sponsored three symposia to 1) highlight ongoing studies of fungi in the built environment and 2) further understanding of the fundamental processes that structure fungal communities, including those of indoor environments. …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, September 3, 2016

Microbes in the hospital Extreme Dysbiosis of the Microbiome in Critical Illness — Daniel McDonald — mSphere (OA) (…)  A trial with prospective monitoring of the intensive care unit (ICU) patient microbiome using culture-independent techniques to confirm and characterize this dysbiosis is thus urgently needed. Characterizing ICU patient microbiome changes may provide first steps toward the …

Very very big microbe news: FDA bans antibacterial soaps w/ triclosan & other chems

Well, this is enormously big news: The FDA today banned the use of triclosan as an ingredient in antibacterial soaps, saying that such cleaners were no better than regular soap. Source: FDA bans antibacterial soaps containing triclosan Lots and lots and lots of other stories about this. See for example FDA announcement Washington Post NPR …

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Workshop on Viruses to be Held in Singapore, January 2017

(posted on behalf of Jordan Peccia) Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Workshop on Viruses to be Held in Singapore, January 2017 The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has approved a grant to host a two-day workshop in Singapore on the topic of infectious viral disease in the built environment. Objectives of the workshop include identifying the key …