Think for a minute about all the people stacked on top of each other in cities – not to mention dogs, cats, ferrets, rats, and cockroaches… and you’ll start to realize: this is microbial heaven. Researcher Holly Bik was part of a NYU study that went looking for this invisible, microbial world on ATM machines in New York City.

Three Takeaways:

• Trillions of microbes live inside your body. “It’s kind of a little bit disturbing,” Bik says. “I try not to think about it too much, but every surface we touch, actually our bodies, the human body, is covered in microbes - your skin, your gut, your mouth, your eyes have mites in them. Microbes are everywhere.”
• The scientists found the DNA signatures of chicken and fish that people have eaten, pets people have touched, and skin they’ve shed - all on an ATM keypad.
• Every city has its own “urban microbiome.” Researchers are working on better understanding how the microbial worlds in cities might differ.

More Reading:

• Check out the study for yourself. They’ve released it via an open access platform.
• The way we design our buildings shapes the microbial worlds that live inside them.
• MIT researchers are taking a closer look at the microbes that New York City bees pick up as they flit around the city.