Backyard chickens linked to increasing Salmonella outbreaks

So I feel like this shouldn’t need to be said… but clearly it does.  Don’t kiss chickens or bring them into your bedroom.  Should my opinion not carry enough weight, simply check out this new report from the CDC “Outbreaks of Human Salmonella Infections Associated with Live Poultry, United States, 1990—2014”.  Abstract below.  Major highlights …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, September 17, 2016

Microbes and indoor plants The plant is crucial: specific composition and function of the phyllosphere microbiome of indoor ornamentals – Rocel Amor Ortega – FEMS Microbiology Ecology ($39 for 1 day) The plant microbiome is a key determinant of plant health. Less is known about the phyllosphere microbiota and its driving factors in built environments. To …

Faculty Position in Microbial Ecology At Dartmouth

Faculty Position in Microbial Ecology Department of Biological Sciences Hanover, NH USA The Department of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth College seeks applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Microbial Ecology. We seek highly qualified candidates who investigate important questions relating to the ecology of microbes and their interactions with other organisms. Candidates must have …

Open Faculty Position: Assistant Professor of Sustainable Buildings, The Ohio State University

Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering and Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering Applications are invited for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the field of Sustainable Buildings with a primary appointment in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering and a joint appointment in the Department of Food, …

NASA postdoctoral fellowship solicitation to study the microbiology of the #ISS

In parallel to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation offer of two postdoctoral fellowships to study the microbiology of the ISS, NASA is also issuing a pair of postdoc fellowships on their end.  The collaboration between Sloan and NASA is great to see, since there is significant overlap between their interests in this field.  I’m really …

Dual postdoctoral fellowship opportunity to study the microbiology of the #ISS

This is so awesome. The Sloan Program in Microbiology of the Built Environment is offering a pair of postdoc fellowships to work on the microbiology of the International Space Station. Summary of the call is below, the compete information packet can be downloaded here.  And if that’s not cool enough, the next blog post is …

Emily Anthes on “Can science build the perfect workspace? ” #BuiltEnvironment #microbiomes

Windows, desks and employees are being wired up in a quest to create healthy, evidence-based environments. Interesting article by Emily Anthes in Nature: The office experiment: Can science build the perfect workspace? : Nature News & Comment It focuses on a collaboration between the Mayo Clinic and a design firm – Delos to create something called the …

Antimicrobial chemicals and antibiotic resistance in dust – now open access!

Jumping on the blame train, my colleagues and I have found yet another reason to avoid antibacterial products.  Our study, which identified a correlation between certain antibiotic resistance genes and the much maligned triclosan in indoor dust, was published in Environmental Science & Technology last week.  As of today, the full text version is freely …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, September 10, 2016

Studying the 5 second rule, antibiotic resistance genes in indoor dust and sewers, Legionella in the air, and water treatment. Microbes on the floor Longer Contact Times Increase Cross-Contamination of Enterobacter aerogenes from Surfaces to Food — Robyn C. Miranda — Applied and Environmental Microbiology ($25 for 1 day) Bacterial cross-contamination from surfaces to food can …

Review of interest: antimicrobial resistance in the environment (water edition)

There is a review out in Water Environment Research that may be of interested. Title: Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment Water Environment Research, 2016 Literature Review, pp. 1951-1967(17) Authors: Williams, Maggie R.; Stedtfeld, Robert D.; Guo, Xueping; Hashsham, Syed A. Abstract. This review summarizes important publications from 2015 pertaining to the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the …