Say Hi To the Bacteria On the Subway – MAP

Bacteria found at the Ditmars subway station. Cheese!

This morning while going through my Facebook feed, a friend in the middle of the country let out “a yelp of terror” when he read in the NY Times about this business about mapping the bacteria on the subway. In the article, the systemwide bacteria was deemed “mostly harmless,” though there is a little bit of plague apparently here and there. And a lot more, as I spent time delving into a very cool map over on the WSJ regarding our microscopic friends and enemies.

I started at the end of the line in Astoria, at Ditmars, and it was fascinating to see what is out there, from bacteria of Italian cheese, to sepsis, to UTIs, to oil cleanup. I’m particularly intrigued by all the cheese bacteria present throughout the system.

How about you? What’s at your station? Anything deadly or intriguing? Leave us a comment or a tweet!

Among New York Subway’s Millions of Riders, a Study Finds Many Mystery Microbes [NYT]
Mapping the Bacteria in New York’s Subways [WSJ]