When most people think of the microbiology of the built environment they think of pathogens that hang out in buildings. Here’s a neat story about a helpful bacteria that lives in a very different kind of “built environment”… a uranium mill tailings site. These tailings facilities are where all the waste and excess rock from …
Another article about Jessica Green and the work at the Sloan-funded BioBE Center in Oregon. Bonus points for the picture of plush microbes.
When I walk around UC Davis campus or visit areas near hospitals I am always dismayed by the number of people wearing their scrubs when they go out to lunch, seminars, or just walk around. I have always wondered whether those scrubs harbor anything nasty. Well, a new study in the American Journal of Infection Control …
Cross posting this from my Tree of Life blog: Well I am very excited about this article in the Boston Globe today: Ecosystem, sweet ecosystem – The Boston Globe. By Courtney Humphries the article discusses the Sloan Foundation program in the “Indoor Environment” that is focusing on microbial ecology of the built environment. I am, well, really into …
Well, kudos I suppose to the headline writer for this one: Your faeces, my furry friend, are blowin’ in the wind – health – 12 August 2011 – New Scientist. The article is about recent work by Noah Fierer and colleagues on bacteria in outdoor air in cities. Not exactly microbiology of the built environment …
Wow. Jessica Green is certainly helping spread the word about microbes in buildings. There is an article in smartplanet from Aug 6 about her work: Ecologists, designers explore new ‘architecture-biology interface’ | SmartPlanet. The article discusses her recent Ted talk and some of her work at the BioBE Center.
Just a quick one here. There is an interesting article in “The New Mexican” featuring Jessica Green from the Biology and the Built Environment Center: Researcher: Microbes in buildings not all bad – The Santa Fe New Mexican. The article not only discusses how many microbes are NOT bad for you, but also discusses Jessica …
OK my headline is a bit over the top. But it is reactionary to some over the top claims by a doctor from Arizona worried about germs in play areas. The Sacramento Bee has an article about a crusade by a woman named Erin Carr-Jordan who is apparently trying to rally the troops around the …
When people hear “microbiology of the built environment” they tend to think first of buildings. But the built environment includes so much more, ranging from transportation (cars/planes/space shuttles) to swimming pools to highway bridges. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has a test facility where they study biofuels. They recently presented some results …
The association between moisture/dampness and negative health indicators (e.g. asthma) is quite well documented. This is usually pinned on an unspecified “mold” although in reality the causative agent(s) is unknown. For an excellent and detailed review of this topic see here. A new study came out this week that looked in particular at the …