hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Beijing’s thick smog is full of microbes
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Beijing’s thick smog is full of microbes
Beijing - Some 1,300 species of microbes, including some associated with allergies and lung disease, have been detected adrift in Beijing’s thick smog.
Scientists in China have utilized genome sequencing to identify the biological makeup of the thick, ethereal smog that hangs like a cloak over Beijing. Their analysis has shown that the brown haze hosts some 1,300 microbial species. While most of these species are believed to be harmless, some have been linked to allergies and respiratory disease in humans. Isolates included the pneumonia-causing Streptococcus pneumonia, the fungal allergen Aspergillus fumigatus, and a variety of bacteria commonly found in feces. This is important because there is increasing evidence that microbes could play an important role in the health effects. One of the authors, Ting Zhu, a biologist at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told Nature that: "It’s a proof of principle that one can extract and identify these microbes at the species level. It adds to our understanding of what we inhale every day." The findings have been published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, in a paper titled "Inhalable Microorganisms in Beijing’s PM2.5 and PM10 Pollutants during a Severe Smog Event". Already this year, the BBC reports, readings of the Beijing smog have registered more than twenty times the recommended exposure levels by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This follows on from news last year that contaminants in the air are officially carcinogens (potentially cancer causing), as indicated by a World Health Organization (WHO) report.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Beijing’s thick smog is full of microbes