If you want to find out the microbial diversity in your refrigerator and more, sign up for Wild Life Of Your Home Project (via here).
"As we have moved from mud and thatch huts into pre-fab houses and highrise apartments, the biggest change has been our web of ecological connections. We have gone from lives immersed in nature to lives in which nature appears to have disappeared… It has not. But what has changed is which species live with us. Here we propose to study that change and more specifically to ask, To what extent do the species around us, particularly those microscopic species of which we are scarcely aware, differ as a consequence of how we live? As of now, the answer, particularly as it relates to small species, is unresolved, though frequently speculated upon.
"As we have moved from mud and thatch huts into pre-fab houses and highrise apartments, the biggest change has been our web of ecological connections. We have gone from lives immersed in nature to lives in which nature appears to have disappeared… It has not. But what has changed is which species live with us. Here we propose to study that change and more specifically to ask, To what extent do the species around us, particularly those microscopic species of which we are scarcely aware, differ as a consequence of how we live? As of now, the answer, particularly as it relates to small species, is unresolved, though frequently speculated upon.
No one can tell you which species live with you in your house. Well, that is not totally true, we can, or at least we will be able to soon. We aim to understand, for the first time, how the ways in which we live influence who we live with. In doing so we will test the hygiene hypothesis, but also explore, more broadly, our modern relationship with other species in our homes."
If you want to find out the microbial diversity in your water heater, sign up for Penn State Astrobiology Citizen Science Project for NASA (via here):
"Researchers at Penn State University need your help to study the distribution of microorganisms in household hot water heaters. Turns out your everyday hot water heater can double as a model hot spring, one of Earth’s extreme environments where important clues about microbial life in the Solar System might be found.
Participants take a water sample from their kitchen tap and answer 20 questions to help determine which-and how many–microorganisms are present. The whole process takes about 30 minutes. Researchers will then combine your answers (data) with contributions from households across the country. The goal is to generate a first image of the biogeographic distribution of microorganisms across the United States."
"Researchers at Penn State University need your help to study the distribution of microorganisms in household hot water heaters. Turns out your everyday hot water heater can double as a model hot spring, one of Earth’s extreme environments where important clues about microbial life in the Solar System might be found.
Participants take a water sample from their kitchen tap and answer 20 questions to help determine which-and how many–microorganisms are present. The whole process takes about 30 minutes. Researchers will then combine your answers (data) with contributions from households across the country. The goal is to generate a first image of the biogeographic distribution of microorganisms across the United States."
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