New York Subway System Filled With Hundreds Of Species Of Bacteria.

researchers released a study yesterday “that mapped DNA found in New York’s subway system — a crowded, largely subterranean behemoth that carries 5.5 million riders in an average week, and is filled with hundreds of species of bacteria (mostly harmless), the occasional spot of bubonic plague, and a universe of enigmas.” Nearly “half of the DNA found on the system’s surfaces did not match any known organism and just 0.2 percent matched the human genome.” The study produced some less appetizing news. Live, antibiotic-resistant bacteria were discovered in 27 percent of the collected samples, though among all the bacteria, only 12 percent could be associated with disease. Researchers also found three samples associated with bubonic plague and two with DNA fragments of anthrax, though they noted that none of those samples showed evidence of being alive, and that neither disease had been diagnosed in New York for some time. The presence of anthrax, Dr. Mason said, “is consistent with the many documented cases of anthrax in livestock in New York State and the East Coast broadly.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/nyregion/among-the-new-york-city-subways-millions-of-riders-a-study-finds-many-mystery-microbes.html?ref=health&_r=0