The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind: E. Coli & Cloud Formation

January 29, 2013 1:13 AM

Scientists Find Bacteria Survive at High Altitudes
Study finds significant microorganism populations in middle and upper troposphere
Microbiome of the upper troposphere: Species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications
See also Properties of biological aerosols and their impact on atmospheric processes

posted by y2karl (17 comments total)

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind: E. Coli & Cloud Formation

how many gaaaaas-tro-inteeeeehhh-stinal ills
are borne on the aaaaaair 'bove our head
how many paaaath-o-gens brought by the breeze
will wiiiiind up in our lungs instead
yes and how many straaaains of bac-teeeerial cells
are swiiiiirling around in the sky
the answer my dear, is in the troposphere
the answer is in the troposphere
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:41 AM on January 29, 2013 [12 favorites]

We're fucked. Then again we always were.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 2:46 AM on January 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

*Looks over at North America.*

It wasn't me.
posted by three blind mice at 2:50 AM on January 29, 2013

So this is what remains of the airborne toxic event.
posted by holmesian at 5:29 AM on January 29, 2013

Don't tell Monk. Or Invader Zim.
posted by Foosnark at 5:58 AM on January 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

We're fucked. Then again we always were.

It's how we got here!
posted by eriko at 6:27 AM on January 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is that 'fart layer' right above the ozone layer that Steve Martin was always talking about, huh?
posted by davelog at 6:29 AM on January 29, 2013

is the oft-quoted military meteorological event known as the Shitstorm?
posted by djrock3k at 6:54 AM on January 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

If a person farts on a plane and no one is there to hear it, does it exist?
posted by stormpooper at 7:08 AM on January 29, 2013

For related reading, this month's National Geographic has a feature on the bacteria that live in our body. The contents of my tissue suddenly took on new horrifying meaning.
posted by arcticseal at 7:39 AM on January 29, 2013

Don't think too hard about mitochondria arcticseal - just saying.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:57 AM on January 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

It's how we got here!

They fuck you up
Your mum and dad.
They may not mean to,
But they do.
posted by yoink at 9:08 AM on January 29, 2013

Well, maybe it said it somewhere in one of these articles - is the presence of viable microbes limited to the troposphere? Is it that no microbes can survive above the tropopause, or just that no one has been able to look for microbes above it?
posted by newdaddy at 11:21 AM on January 29, 2013

For some reason this makes me feel happy. You go little bacterias.
posted by shelleycat at 12:00 PM on January 29, 2013

Double, or resurrected deletion? Or bizarre time dilation in my 'hood?
posted by Mezentian at 6:31 AM on January 30, 2013

Or me having http://www.metafilter.com/index.cfm?page=2 open in a random tab and hitting refresh.

I think it is the latter.
posted by Mezentian at 6:32 AM on January 30, 2013

Isn't this a tenet of Scientology?
posted by Kale Slayer at 9:56 AM on February 2, 2013