ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → Biology

Creating a microbial map of the city

Give it up for your city's sewer system - aside from handling our waste (well, at least most of the time), it also fights disease.

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
November 11, 2015
in Biology, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

RelatedPosts

Children are cleaning up an oil spill in Bangladesh – with their bare hands
Men’s Y chromosome stands its ground – men aren’t going extinct!
Unfortunately, the US president still doesn’t understand what “climate” means
‘Artificial leafs’ turn water and sunlight into electricity

Give it up for your city’s sewer system – aside from handling our waste (well, at least most of the time), it also fights disease. A new MIT project aims to map the microbiome of the sewers, and through it, have a better understanding of modern cities.

MIT Senseable City Lab

Cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and many other fatal infections once ran rampart through cities, but since then, we’ve become better and better at containing and eliminating them (at least from some areas). But if these microbes went away from our city’s microbiomes, what else changed? That’s what a group of researchers set out to find.

“You can tell a lot about a person by sampling their microbiome: presence of illness, certain genetic tendencies, and overall health,” says Carlo Ratti, architect, engineer, and director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab. Those invaluable biomarkers live on in our sewage, which is why Ratti has been decoding microbes in the sewers of Cambridge, Massachusetts, for more than a year, alongside MIT computational microbiologist Eric Alm, other researchers, and city officials.

Of course, the project was quite messy at times; there is a lot of “getting your hands dirty”, and Ratti often had to go down manholes to manually collect waste. Known as Underworlds, the initiative now involves a network of automated robotic samplers stationed throughout Cambridge, Massachusetts. The data is then analyzed by Ratti and fellow colleague Eric Alm. There are still many tweaks and kinks that still need working out, but already, the results are spectacular.

A single sample of sewage was found to host 58,000 viruses, many of which are hosted by bacteria associated with gastroenteritis, skin warts, and the common flu. When you connect the dots and look at things at a larger scale, you can track microbial population evolution and predict oubreaks of infectious disease – even predict the evolution of new viral strains.

“[It] could significantly reduce a community’s medical costs, save lives and help prevent pandemics,” Ratti says.

Furthermore, it could lead to the creation of a better way of understanding some urban demographics. For example, neighborhoods with more antibiotics in their wastewater are expected to have larger populations of children or elderly people – or higher rates of health care access. Data like that could lead to a new generation of a population census.

But for now, Underworlds is only a proof of concept, although operations are already expanding to Kuwait, where the platform’s ability to detect enterovirus outbreaks will be of particular interest.

ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

great white shark
Animals

This Shark Expert Has Spent Decades Studying Attacks and Says We’ve Been Afraid for the Wrong Reasons

byJordan Strickler
2 hours ago
Agriculture

A Rocket Carried Cannabis Seeds and 166 Human Remains into Space But Their Capsule Never Made It Back

byTudor Tarita
2 hours ago
News

Ancient ‘Zombie’ Fungus Trapped in Amber Shows Mind Control Began in the Age of the Dinosaurs

byMihai Andrei
3 hours ago
News

Your browser lets websites track you even without cookies

byMihai Andrei
3 hours ago

Recent news

great white shark

This Shark Expert Has Spent Decades Studying Attacks and Says We’ve Been Afraid for the Wrong Reasons

June 30, 2025

A Rocket Carried Cannabis Seeds and 166 Human Remains into Space But Their Capsule Never Made It Back

June 30, 2025

Ancient ‘Zombie’ Fungus Trapped in Amber Shows Mind Control Began in the Age of the Dinosaurs

June 30, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.