It’s been a couple of weeks since my last posts due to some work-related trips and changing jobs. Since last week, I am the new Science Editor at uBiome. So here is a longish post to catch up with papers and news articles on microbes of the Built Environment. Microbes and buildings Popular press: ‘Living buildings’ …
(This blog post was prepared by students enrolled in the Koala Poop Microbiome Class in the Fall of 2016 at UC Davis) This week we set out to extract DNA from isolated bacteria grown in liquid culture to further analyze it. Students in the lab were assigned test tubes containing tannin degrading bacteria which have …
You know sometimes you use a working title for something for long enough that it becomes the title? Like “Snakes on a Plane”. That’s what happened in this case, we also meant to come up with a name for this class… never did and so the official name at the registrar is “Koala Poop”. Awesome. …
(This blog post was prepared by students enrolled in the Koala Poop Microbiome Class in the Fall of 2016 at UC Davis) The goal of this week was to isolate a single bacterial colony for further study. This week we observed bacterial growth from our koala poop samples. With a partner, we obtained and observed …
We’re recruiting a student/postdoc for this project! If it sounds interesting, please contact the Huttenhower Lab! We were happy to hear that we’ve been funded by the Sloan Foundation to continue our study of microbes on the Boston subway. Our original study involved 1) identifying which microbes were resident in this built environment, 2) understanding …
(This blog post was prepared by students enrolled in the Koala Poop Microbiome Class in the Fall of 2016 at UC Davis) Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are currently threatened by a highly infectious disease known as Chlamydia pecorum. In response to the growing prevalence of this disease in koala populations, researchers are treating affected koala bears …
In a recent story published in Cell this week, I walk through my own life and career, to deliver the message that humans are changing their own microbial communities as well as those in animals and in the environment, and that health research needs a substantial dose of an evolutionary, ecological and anthropological perspective …
Videos and slides from Meeting #3 | Microbiomes of the Built Environment that was held recently at the NAS in Irvine have been posted. Videos are available on Youtube in this Playlist.
Microbes indoors How do we make indoor environments and healthcare settings healthier? – Jack A. Gilbert – Microbial Biotechnology (OA) It is now well accepted that our modern lifestyle has certain implications for our health (Schaub et al., 2006), mainly as a result of our willingness to remove ourselves from the biological diversity of our …
November 9 Seminar: The Chemistry of Microbiomes in Human Environments Hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable Wednesday, November 9 2pm – 5pm EDT When most people think about microbes, they think disease. For well over 100 years the medical community’s mantra has been that “the only good bug is a dead bug.” But the functions …