Just thought I would write up a quick post on a session at the Infectious Disease Week meeting in San Francisco that I was part of. The session was entitled “Media, Social Media, and Open Access: Communicating the Science of Infectious Disease” and it featured three talks: Tara Smith, PhD: Using Social Media to Affect Change …
In the United States, floods are the most common natural disaster (NFIP, 2013). Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of precipitation extremes in the Northern Hemisphere, leading to increased flood risks (Min et al., 2011; Pall et al., 2011). Studies suggest both general flooding and extreme flood events will become increasingly frequent as …
In the last 24 hours I saw articles with the following three headlines: My dishwasher is trying to kill me: Extreme conditions suit pathogenic fungus. Compost Harbors Legionnaire’s Disease Bacteria Bacteria, Mold Found In Vacuum Dust You’re not safe anywhere! And people wonder why microbes get such a bad rap. Yes, of course some microbes …
I’ve had a number of conversations over the last decade that have gone something like this: Other person: “I totally agree that overuse of antibiotics and antibacterials is a problem” Me: “Do you realize how pervasive they are? They’re in toys, laundry detergent, hand soap, cosmetics, deodorants, you name it. In fact, I’ll bet there’s …
Bill Nazaroff has a seemingly simple – but quite detailed and very useful article worth reading for anyone interested in indoor air / indoor environments. It was published September 13 in Indoor Air: Four principles for achieving good indoor air quality. In the paper Nazaroff first discusses how “Everything should be made as simple as possible, …
Building Information Research Knowldgebase – BRIK is a useful site for all kinds of architecture-oriented research. Here’s a link to the database of built environment research hosted by AIA with NIBS: http://www.brikbase.org/. Self-described as “your information portal to professionally reviewed research in the built environment for professionals by professionals” Here is an example of a …
Just a quick post here to point people to a resource we just recently became aware of called the “Building Information Knowledgebase (BRIKbase)”. From their “About” page: A collaborative effort of the American Institute of Architects and the National Institute of Building Sciences, the Building Research Information Knowledgebase (BRIK) is an interactive portal offering online …
Starting in the fall of 2012 we began a second project to involve undergraduates (and a high school student) in real research that relates to the microbiology of the built environment. This time we looked at biogeography and succession in microbial communities found in aquariums. A description of the project can be found here and …
Just a brief post here to point people to a blog post on the Science Cheerleader website which describes the efforts of our Project MERCCURI team to team up with Pop Warner to collect samples for the ISS, for the Earth Microbiome Project, and to expand the educational reach of this citizen science effort. Read …
Hats off to Tuesday’s New York Times article, “A Quest for Even Safer Drinking Water,” for daring to bring microbiology to the people. The article sheds light several key reasons we can no longer afford to ignore the vast microbial diversity that exists within the drinking water environment, among them are opportunistic pathogens and antibiotic …