A new study out of Weill Medical College found that the New York subway system is teeming with mystery bacteria, viruses and fungi that scientists cannot identify. The New York Times reports that scientists say only 0.2 percent of the microbes they found were of human origin. What is more, the research team identified microbes such as inactive anthrax and bubonic plague hitching a ride on the underground. As well, they found 27 percent of the samples contained bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics but only 12 percent that could cause human disease.
To conduct the study, called PathoMap, scientists swabbed New York subway seats, poles, turnstyles, doors and handrails over a period of 17 months. Most of the samples they found remain a mystery and could not be identified as belonging to any known species. So, are the findings cause for alarm? Are aliens actually riding the subway, shedding millions of creepy microbes that take up residence in the underground cars?
Roughly half of the microbes found were not identifiable. Before you freak out over the thought of alien bacteria infecting your bloodstream, though, it is important to note that the findings are completely normal. It would not be expected for scientists to be able to classify all of the found microbes because only a small portion of those species have been successfully mapped so far. The study does not reflect any information to become worried over, but rather it is a fascinating reminder about how much science does not yet know.
Dr. Christopher E. Mason, who conducted the study, says he hopes the research results spark people’s interest in the complexity of the microbiome all around us. “I want them to think of it the same way you’d look at a rain forest, and be almost in awe and wonder, effectively, that there are all these species present — and that you’ve been healthy all along,” Mason said.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said there is no reason to be anxious about the mystery bacteria riding the New York subway, despite the fact that scientists cannot identify almost half of it. “As the study clearly indicates,” he said, “microbes were found at levels that pose absolutely no danger to human life and health.”
Photo credit: Flickr