Health & Medicine
Dust in Your House May Reveal Where You Live and About Your Family
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Aug 26, 2015 03:23 PM EDT
What does your dust say about you? Scientists have taken a closer look at household dust and have found that it may be able to predict not only the geographic region of a given home, but the gender ratio of the occupants and the presence of a pet, as well.
"Every day, we're surrounded by a vast array of organisms in our homes, most of which we can't see," said Noah Fierer, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We live in a microbial zoo, and this study was an attempt to catalog that diversity."
In this latest study, the researchers examined about 1,200 homes across the continental U.S. Volunteers collected indoor and outdoor dust samples at each site.
The researchers analyzed the dust and found that, on average, each home contained more than 5,000 different species of bacteria and around 2,000 species of fungi. Fungal communities tended to be more predictive of a home's location while bacterial communities provided clues about the identity of its residents.
"Geography is the best predictor of fungi in your home," said Fierer. "The reason is that most fungi blow in from outdoors via soil and leaves."
When it comes to bacteria, though, whom you live with is more important. The researchers could confidently identify which homes had cats or dogs, and also the gender ratios of the residents.
"One of the key takeaways is that if you want to change what you breathe inside your house, you would either have to move very far away or change the people and the pets you live with," said Albert Barbaran, lead author of the new study.
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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First Posted: Aug 26, 2015 03:23 PM EDT
What does your dust say about you? Scientists have taken a closer look at household dust and have found that it may be able to predict not only the geographic region of a given home, but the gender ratio of the occupants and the presence of a pet, as well.
"Every day, we're surrounded by a vast array of organisms in our homes, most of which we can't see," said Noah Fierer, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We live in a microbial zoo, and this study was an attempt to catalog that diversity."
In this latest study, the researchers examined about 1,200 homes across the continental U.S. Volunteers collected indoor and outdoor dust samples at each site.
The researchers analyzed the dust and found that, on average, each home contained more than 5,000 different species of bacteria and around 2,000 species of fungi. Fungal communities tended to be more predictive of a home's location while bacterial communities provided clues about the identity of its residents.
"Geography is the best predictor of fungi in your home," said Fierer. "The reason is that most fungi blow in from outdoors via soil and leaves."
When it comes to bacteria, though, whom you live with is more important. The researchers could confidently identify which homes had cats or dogs, and also the gender ratios of the residents.
"One of the key takeaways is that if you want to change what you breathe inside your house, you would either have to move very far away or change the people and the pets you live with," said Albert Barbaran, lead author of the new study.
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Related Stories
Vaginal Bacteria May Increase the Risk of Preterm Birth
Lung Microbiome: Bacterial and Human Cells Speaking the Same Language
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone