What is better than Open Access?! Citizen Science AND Open Access! The March issue of JMBE was all that. You have probably already heard of Kittybiome and/or The Koala Project, 2 ongoing projects in the Eisen Lab. Both projects were featured in the paper, “Crowdfunding Campaigns Help Researchers Launch Projects and Generate Outreach”, published in …
For the last few years our lab has been really excited about the idea of having undergraduates culture bacterial isolates and sequence their genomes. Starting with the Undergraduate Built Environment Genomes Project in 2011, we went on to re-write and upgrade the assembly pipeline that we use, followed by the publication of the “Swabs to …
One afternoon while making my way through another DNA extraction, I was eavesdropping over the lab benches, per usual, trying to keep my mind occupied. I overheard my project manager and another undergraduate discussing an unusual project. “Do you want to contact the Sacramento authorities to get clearance to swab the light rail, because talking …
(This post was written by group#1 as a writing assignment) A new class yet to be named begins giving students hands on experience with genomic sequencing. We are attempting to sequence bacteria from diseased abalone. We had fecal samples from both healthy and diseased red abalone and white abalone, 4 in total. In the first …
Last night, the premiere of a PBS series on the built environment aired. It is a three part series that will cover “10 Homes that Changed America,” then the equivalent for parks and towns. Apparently, this stemmed from a similar series on buildings that aired several years ago. More on the series and what will …
We’ve written about Joana Ricou before on this blog, and here she is again. This time with an exhibit featuring oil paintings representing human bodies and their microbiomes. The linked article also includes a video of Ricou discussing her work, which has been featured on the cover of a scientific journal and strives to combine science and art in …
Much discussed among microbiogists have been various scenes from the book and film (both excellent), “The Martian”. In short, the protagonist mixes some earth soil, some human feces, and some Martian soil to grow potatoes on Mars. Would this work? Is the feces required? Would you get sick? Are the microbes even needed for plant …
We are kicking off planning for a two day fall 2017 MoBE meeting in Washington, DC to promote and celebrate the scientific achievements of the MoBE project. The MoBE 2017 meeting will engage the broader research and governmental community to champion the scientific endeavors of the MoBE program, highlighting scientific achievements and novel understandings gained …
Just got this e-mail from Indoor Air 2016… they’ve extended their early bird registration to April 10th for the meeting this year in Ghent Belgium. Details below: Dear Indoor Air 2016 enthusiasts, In this April edition of the newsletter we would like to remind you about some practical issues related to the conference: Early bird …
Your weekly update with new papers on the microbiology of the built environment, and the effect of humans on microbial communities in a broader sense. Microbes in the house Microbial analyses of airborne dust collected from dormitory rooms predict the sex of occupants – Julia C Luongo – Indoor Air ($38 for PDF, $6 to …