2/19/14
The beach is a place for fun, sun and an escape from the real world for a short time. You would think that such a wonderful place to be would be free from worries, even of the microscopic kind. Water on beaches which is often monitored by scientists to keep from harmful contaminants such as human sewage from entering this water and making beach goers sick. However, new research shows that there is no monitoring system on the sand and more studies are coming back showing that there are harmful microbes contained within the sand. Things like pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses have been detected with the most recent tests. The scary part of it all is that scientists are unsure of exactly what effects will come from exposure to these different kinds of microbes since they had just found out these had even existed in the first place.
Details are plain as day in this article there is however, a lot of mystery surrounding just what could be living in the sand beneath our feet. Knowing more information on this subject would make for a lot better analysis. The question is how did all these microbes even get there? From years of tourists or just naturally? Also, why are they just discovering the existence of these little guys now? It's crazy to know they can even be in the sand we play in. We may be able to take vacations to the beach, so why can't microbes?
Details are plain as day in this article there is however, a lot of mystery surrounding just what could be living in the sand beneath our feet. Knowing more information on this subject would make for a lot better analysis. The question is how did all these microbes even get there? From years of tourists or just naturally? Also, why are they just discovering the existence of these little guys now? It's crazy to know they can even be in the sand we play in. We may be able to take vacations to the beach, so why can't microbes?
http://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/oceanus/becky-bab-levi_170653.jpeg
Once again microbes blow my mind! They are everywhere! In the sand at the beach? You cannot escape them! Once I thought about it though, the beach would be a microbes best “vacationing spot.” I mean the ocean contains a lot of salt and some microbes feed on salt right? At least the microbes we talked about in class that feed of our salty skin, daily! A question that comes to mind is what type of bacteria and viruses did they actually find? Did they discover absolutely new kinds that have never even been known to mankind? You also brought up a great question in the blog, that is how did all these microbes even get there? There’s many ways to analyze this because beaches are people’s “go to” spots for vacations? Did they bring the microbes? Can it be from bird droppings? Or can this being different microbes coming from the ocean? This is definitely something to think about and have research upon, because let’s face it, most people love beaches!
ReplyDelete-Angelo V.
oah! That’s an insane thing to think about. You truly cannot escape the microbes; wherever you are vacationing, so are they. It would’ve been really helpful to know what types of bacteria and viruses they found there. Were they extraordinarily dangerous, or things that we carry on our skins daily? It does make a difference if I ever want to stick my toes in the sand again. Angelo also brought up a good point; how come they are gathering there exactly? Do they live there because there are layers and layers of sand to keep them buried safely under there? Or do they live there because they are actively feeding on all the salt the water leaves behind? My bet is on the salty food being provided. But there’s another question to be answered; is the salt actually coming from the water, or is it from the fish poop? Maybe even the skin cells people shed while swimming or sunbathing? Ew. These are important questions to think about next time you decide to go for a swim.
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