Researchers selected about 1200 families from the mainland of the United States, and volunteers of the “wildlife in my home” scientific research project collected dust samples inside and outside the houses at each location. Through analysis, the researchers found that the dust of each family contains about 7000 different kinds of bacteria and about 2000 kinds of fungi.
Fungal flora can often reveal the geographical location of a family, because most fungi are introduced indoors through clothes or blown indoors from outdoor soil and leaves; In contrast, bacterial groups can reflect the identity of residents, because most of the bacteria fall off from the human body, and some bacteria only appear in the rooms where women live, and some only appear in the rooms where men live. Researchers can also accurately judge who you live with and whether you have pets at home based on these microbial clues.
Researcher Noah Feiler pointed out that although some microorganisms may cause allergies or other diseases, the vast majority are harmless, so there is no need to worry too much.
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