So when I first dipped my toe into blogging on microBEnet (which I had just set up) on Feb 16, 2011 I had no idea that *nine* years later, I’d be furiously blogging about a global pandemic (and still in the Eisen lab). Since this is my *500th blog post* I just thought I’d reflect …
(h/t to Jonathan Eisen for the original article) Virtually all the discussion these days is about aerosol/airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and probably rightly so… there’s a lot of evidence that these are the primary routes of transmission. But as a recent Medscape article admonishes; “Don’t Forget the Fomites as Face-to-Face Care Ramps Up“. It’s still …
This is a nice and clear (and short) editorial by Joseph Allen and Linsey Marr; “Recognizing and controlling airborne transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 in indoor environments“. Basically they summarize the evidence for airborne transmission and suggest some mitigation strategies. Definitely worth a read. Abstract below: Sharing indoor space has been confirmed as a major risk factor …
Authored by Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, University of Oregon, Professor of Architecture and Director for the Institute of Health in the Built Environment and Mark Fretz, Research Assistant Professor and Director of Knowledge ExchangeLives & Livelihoods, the UnSeen Hope to Reopen How are we going to balance decisions about increasing acute risks to human life …
Only somewhat related to the Built Environment, but still some mention of occupant density and airflows within a confined space. This short article is a description of an outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea that took place in several fitness dance classes there. Key point; “Vigorous exercise in confined spaces should be minimized during outbreaks”. …
(h/t to Mark Martin for posting about this on Twitter) A break from COVID-19… Microbes in Spaaaaaaaaaace. (it never gets old). This article entitled “Crewmember microbiome may influence microbial composition of ISS habitable surfaces” is a much needed addition to the literature on the ISS microbiome. Work from our lab an others has examined the …
This paper in Nature is the first study to report size distributions of SARS-CoV-2 in air. Although the virus itself is 0.1 microns in diameter, we expect it to be released into air in droplets that span a wide range of sizes. The droplets will shrink to less than half their original diameter as some …
(h/t to Rich Corsi and Paula Olsiewski for sharing this article on Twitter) I have to admit, while this article falls squarely within our remit of the Microbiology of the Built Environment, it seems a little bit in the obvious category. This is a preprint looking at data from hundreds of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in China …
So if you have access to the Wall Street Journal, this article is worth a look. It focuses on the spread of coronavirus and how open / compact work environments (such as those that have been growing in usage in the tech industry and elsewhere) might make the spread of the virus more rapid than …
Recently, I have been reading and thinking a lot about what one needs to develop a model system for host-microbiome studies. I am particularly interested in this because I have been working with a few colleagues on developing seagrass, and specifically, Zostera marina, into such a model system. This started with a grant from the …