I so wish I was back in grade school. For one thing, I would listen and learn more and also because 50+ years later I finally thought of a science fair project.

This line of thinking began a few days ago when I first emptied out the water that had collected in my dehumidifier, and I discovered just how much water the air holds at 98% humidity (in my small camper, a cup per day collects). I looked around in my spacey, half-crazed way and thought, “wow, I cannot even see that moisture, and the air looks so clear inside this place. Wow man.”

I do understand about air saturation and condensation; what really got to me was my second question, “I wonder what else is in the air that I cannot see?”  In the past I have observed dust particles in a ray of light slanting through the window. I have tasted dirt and sand blown around during severe wind events. I have seen polluted air hover over tall buildings. Who hasn’t? I know from the news that seemingly pure air has delivered deadly toxins during wars.  As a young women, I contacted Valley Fever, an airborne fungus I breathed in while at University of Arizona. What I want to know, however, is, “do millions of microbes routinely cling to air molecules like they do in soil and sand, other than those times when people sneeze in your face?”

Simple questions lead to great Science Fair projects. I can see it now: a three-paneled poster board display that asks that very question, do microbes cling to air molecules like they do in soil and sand? Assuming that the answer is yes, on the center panel that displays that question in block letters, I would post the answers. On the left side I would have some quotes, and on the right side a description of how this affects humans. Lots of drawings too and curlicues, which I used to adorn school papers at that age.  This is the 60s so I won’t have any fancy testing equipment: for this project I would do my research in an encyclopedia.

Time warp: I have now started my research using modern web-surfing. Even in fairly modern times, scientists believed that UV rays from the sun would kill of any air microbes, so the answer in the 60s would have been no! But now? Bulls-eye.The answer is yes, the air is filled with over 1800 kinds of bacteria, a finding just made in 2006! A poignant quote:

“Before this study, no one had a sense of the diversity of the microbes in the air,” said study leader Gary Andersen of the Earth and Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

Some other interesting findings:

• Scientists have now confirmed that clouds originating in Africa carry microbial life that can cause disease in humans, plants, and other animals far from the source.
• Desert-dust storms whip up and disperse an estimated 2.4 billion tons of soil and dried sediment throughout the Earth’s atmosphere annually (with lots of microbes hanging on).
• “It doesn’t matter where we do the research, we typically find 20 to 30 percent of the microbes in dust clouds as known pathogens to some animal on the planet,

Human implications? Across the globe, we are more connected than we think. For example, some diseases travel the world on air molecules, from them to us, us to them. Furthermore, air pollution might kill off good bacteria and promote growth of the bad guys. In any event, the balance is disrupted. I am certain many more questions and discoveries are forthcoming and maybe the worn advice about getting some fresh air when feeling sick will fall into disfavor.

Don’t stop breathing yet! Our anatomy and internal immune system play a role in filtering out and/or conquering diseases that float by. Humans have thrived. Microbes in the air are all part of nature’s balance, the interconnections and diversity are desirable, not a daily menace. Breathe deep!

How about this modern Science Fair Project? This would not have made the cut in my school, that’s for sure!!! For more interesting, hilarious projects, click here.

Compare with this sweet kid: