Dr. Anne’s Book of Common Microbes and their Wonders
In the Dunn lab we have worked for the last decade to study the life in homes. We have swabbed belly buttons, searched under beds, [...]
The Wild Life of Columbus
The untold story of the species that stowed away on Columbus’s ship and how they have since changed the world. Columbus sailed to the Caribbean [...]
The First National Inventory of All Household Life (on a swab)
In dust one can record the actions of storms, the wearing of mountains, the consequences of industrialization. The study of dust has a long history. [...]
Could there be 200 million species on Earth?
Recently, one of my colleagues, Brian Brown, found thirty new species of flies in urban Los Angeles. Species not yet named. Species not yet studied. [...]
Evolution of the Indoor Biome
There is something living in the north-facing wall of our apartment. My partner and I have narrowed it down to an organism in the phylum [...]
A Whole New Way of Doing Citizen Science, Maybe
Some parts of science are boring. Some are tedious. Some seem as though they will never end. It is these parts of science we tend [...]
The Tip of the Gutberg: The World’s First Map of the Patina of Feces
If one tells the story of the history of the Earth from the perspective of microbes, one of the great leaps forward was the evolution [...]
Breakthrough: The Relationship Between Urbanization, Lifestyle, the Microbiome(s) and Autoimmune and Allergic Problems is Complex
Recently, the news has been awash with stories of the links between the biodiversity outside of peoples’ homes, the diversity of bacteria and other microbes [...]
The Future of Discovery
In March 2014, Rob spoke at TEDxSantaCruz, explaining how much we don’t know about the species living on us, in us and around us – [...]
The Wild Life of Chimpanzee Nests
We share a lot with you, dear readers. Some might say too much (ahem, the plight of our own armpit bacteria, for example). Yet believe [...]
Delayed Gratification, Citizen Science and Why You Might Not Have Received an Email about Your Sample Yet
But, If You Are So Willing, You'll Receive Emails and Updates for the Next 10 Years. Also, Did I Tell You about the Cats? I [...]
Why Western Tanzania Might Feel Something Like Home
Does your living room floor have more in common with a prairie grassland or a desert? Are our basements really just urban versions of caves? [...]
How to turn any dataset into a glowing worm
A few decades ago gene expression, the process by which the code books of genes are turned into proteins, was invisible. It happened in every [...]
Looking ahead to 2014 — We want to hear from YOU!
Time sure flies when we’re having fun, doesn’t it? With 2013 winding down, we think it’s a good time to pause and take stock of [...]
The Climate Inside
Our houses modify the climate around them. In great densities, our houses and other buildings can change weather patterns. Urbanization increases temperatures. It can also [...]