New #MoBE paper of interest: Exploring temporal patterns of bacterial and fungal DNA accumulation on a ventilation system filter 

This new #OpenAccess paper may be of interest to those out there thinking about microbes in the built environment. : Luhung I, Wu Y, Xu S, Yamamoto N, Wei-Chung Chang V, Nazaroff WW (2018) Exploring temporal patterns of bacterial and fungal DNA accumulation on a ventilation system filter for a Singapore university library. PLoS ONE …

Guide to MoBE talks and sessions at Indoor Air 2018

So Indoor Air 2018 is fast approaching (June 22-27th) and there are a large number of MoBE-relevant talks on the menu.  The preliminary program for the entire conference can be found here.  Paula Olsiewski from the Sloan Foundation sent us a list this morning of the talks relevant to the Sloan funded microbiology of the …

New paper: Taxonomic annotation of public fungal ITS sequences from the built environment – a report from an April 10–11, 2017 workshop (Aberdeen, UK)

The report (and the data) from our Sloan-funded taxonomic annotation workshop on fungi in the built environment was just published in MycoKeys: https://mycokeys.pensoft.net/article/20887/list/4/ Abstract Recent DNA-based studies have shown that the built environment is surprisingly rich in fungi. These indoor fungi – whether transient visitors or more persistent residents – may hold clues to the rising …

Talk by Rich Corsi: Living in a Material World: Why the Surfaces that Surround You Affect What You Breathe

Rich Corsi was at UC Davis today giving a talk. The announcement for the talk with a summary is below: Living in a Material World: Why the Surfaces that Surround You Affect What You Breathe Richard L. Corsi, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin Environmental & Water Resources Fall Seminar Series Tuesday, October 3, …

ISIAQ Healthy Buildings 2017 Asia

Of interest to many microBEnet readers.   From the website: On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we cordially invite you to attend the Healthy Buildings 2017-Asia (HB2017-Asia), being held from September 2 to 5, 2017, at the College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. The HB2017-Asia inscribes itself on the path of a …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, January 21, 2017

  Microbes in the house and office A survey of xerophilic Aspergillus from indoor environment, including descriptions of two new section Aspergillus species producing eurotium-like sexual states – Cobus M. Visagie – MycoKeys (OA) Xerophilic fungi grow at low water activity or low equilibrium relative humidity and are an important part of the indoor fungal …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, December 3, 2016

Microbes and money Dirty Money: A Matter of Bacterial Survival, Adherence, and Toxicity – Frank Vriesekoop – Microorganisms (OA) In this study we report the underlying reasons to why bacteria are present on banknotes and coins. (…) We treated the various currencies used in this study as microcosms, and the bacterial loading from human hands as …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, October 21, 2016

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 …

New papers on Microbiology of the Built Environment, October 15, 2016

Microbes indoors Review: Microorganisms in Confined Habitats: Microbial Monitoring and Control of Intensive Care Units, Operating Rooms, Cleanrooms and the International Space Station – Maximilian Mora – Frontiers in Microbiology (OA) Indoor environments, where people spend most of their time, are characterized by a specific microbial community, the indoor microbiome. Most indoor environments are connected to …