mapping-urban-genome

##Meetup: Mapping the Urban Genome
What Jack Gilbert works on is so big I'm having trouble describing it. No, wait, it's so small. Gilbert leads a group at Argonne Labs that is "exploring how microbial communities assemble themselves in natural and man-made environments." Big. And then, he and his colleagues studies 2000 homes to analyze microbial signatures of household members (including pets). The differences come down to variations in individual bacteria, and the paths that each person leaves as they leave their particular blend behind on floors, counters, doorknobs. Small.

Here are some other things Gilbert does (per his <a href+"http://www.anl.gov/contributors/jack-gilbert">Argonne bio</a>):
* Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago
* Associate Director of the Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology
* Joint appointment at the Marine Biological laboratory in Woods Hole (I don't know what joint appointment means. Sounds like slacking, to me.)
* Founded Editor-in-Chief of mSystems™, an open-access journal by the American Society for Microbiology (open access! go read it. Better yet, <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/jack-andraka-the-teen-prodigy-of-pancreatic-cancer-135925809/?no-ist=&page=2">have your kid read it</a>.)
* Runds The Home Microbiome Project and the Hospital Microbiome Project

To <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoCityData/events/228036384/">the Meetup group gathered tonight</a>, "I don't do well at focusing." Even though I'm no PhD, I decided to find that comforting.

Tracking someone's microbial signature has such a wide array of applications that Gilbert can be forgiven for not focusing. Criminal forensics, nutrition, mental health, neonatal care, data collection, urban planning. Did you know that living in cities means we are mostly exposed to the microbes from human skin, and sequestered from those in the soil, and plants, and animal droppings? Babies delivered by Cesarean also are exposed to skin microbes, when what their bodies are expecting (evolved to thrive with) are vaginal (way too much giggling about vaginal swabs, tonight, dudes). Breast milk also delivers packages of bacteria from multiple systems in the mother's body, activating the baby's immune system. 

Gilbert is working to investigate likely links between these microbial events and anomalies and health issues like asthma and allergies, and even autism. The causal links and the treatments are all still in the experimental phase, but he did tell us that having a dog in the home and leaving your windows open can introduce more variety into your environment.

Here's another interesting projects he's involved in--<a href="http://americangut.org/"get your poop tracked</a>. And another, <a href="https://arrayofthings.github.io/">studying city air here in Chicago</a>. 

At some point, mayby you'll have a sample-collection device installed in your commode, with a tiny server, and it will upload data to your smartphone. You can take that smartphone to the doctor and get the most effective antibiotic presribed, or a specific dietary prescription to promote targeted boosts in certain gut bacteria. More work for data analysts and information designers. Gilbert's slides were very compelling; very clear. Too bad I only got one photo of them. 



Time to go check LinkedIn for who is working on data visualizations at Argonne...