Dr. Pace who is a microbiologist at the University of
Colorado Boulder and his team studied New York subways. Their goal was to find
out what they are breathing in the subways and if microbes down there were
cause for worry. The team did tests in multiple subways and collected
samples/evidence. The only noted difference the team found was the fungus loads
were higher. The team concluded that the
air in the subway was not different than a crowded outdoor space and there is
no cause for alarm. In my view I believe
the teams “verdict” was a little broad to say the least. I do understand that
what can’t be seen can’t really be spoken on as microbes can be very small. I
also understand that what can’t be seen can still be there. Since microbes are
so small and scientists are finding new microbes every year, to say that there
is “no cause for alarm” can be false. Even if microbes exist in non-closed
places, I believe they still are something to pay attention too. Dr. Diana
proved this today in class, when she spoke about a colleague dying in three
days from an unknown microbe. I conclude that some areas you think cannot be
filled with terrifying microbes can actually be filled with death defying ones.
Microbes are not only in crowded subways but also in places you’d never
imagine. From the lecture today and this article I now want to learn more about
microbes and I also learned they are everywhere!
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| http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/subway-bacteria-2013-11/ |
Wow, I totally agree with you. I never thought about it that way, but your right microbes are everywhere. It's scary to think about it, how something so small that you can’t see can kill you in days or make you sick. I used to live in Philadelphia, PA and subways are a very used form of transportation by everyone. That being said, they are also very dirty and smell very bad, because they are underground and do not get much ventilation or maitnience. Subways are known to be home to the biggest rats and I cant imagine the sicknesses and bacteria that those rats carry. It really surprised me that they found nothing alarming in the subways. Then again, you did mention that they said that they found nothing alarming in the AIR. Perhaps they should test the grounds people walk on and see if they find anything alarming.
ReplyDelete-Steve
I really like the subject of your article, very interesting! It would be interesting to see how many germs would be on the seats and handrails on subways, I'm sure that would be pretty alarming. I agree with you when you said that this subject isn't necessarily something to ignore. We never know what new microbes might show up in the next year, so this is definitely not something to completely ignore. Hopefully scientists continue to do some studies on this subject!
ReplyDeleteA lot of really great information in your blog post. It really is true what we do not see is still there and can harm us in a variety of ways. Going back to our experiment in class. I never really paid any attention to how much germs and microbes there are on the handrails of the stairs in Dane Smith. It can definitely change a lot once you're informed about all the germs that surround us and live in and with us.
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting point. Your best defense is a really healthy immune system!
ReplyDelete