Don't Worry About The Germs On The Subway

Christopher Mason is a geneticist at Weill Cornell Medical College and the lead author of the study PathoMap, which mapped DNA found in New York's subway system. 

He discusses the findings of his research and why New Yorkers shouldn't be alarmed by the presence of diverse microbes, even bubonic plague and meningitis, on the subway system. 

There's bubonic plague DNA on the subway. Should we be worried? "Absolutely not!" says @mason_lab "Nobody has come down with the plague."

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 9, 2015

There are also trace levels of meningitis in the subway, but it's not dangerous. "This represents a healthy city's surface." @mason_lab

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 9, 2015

In stations flooded by #Sandy, there was still evidence of marine-related bacteria. http://t.co/UxaIOVD1Vq

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 9, 2015

"Can you get MRSA, or common cold, from touching subway poles?" - @BrianLehrer "*Transmission* depends on many other factors." - @mason_lab

— Josh Weinberger (@kitson) February 9, 2015

There's yoghurt on the subway. And things that look like "microscopic pizzas" and chickpeas and cucumber (pitas?). http://t.co/UxaIOVD1Vq

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 9, 2015

Wow. The #Pathomap shows that human DNA on the subways matches Census data -- shows ancestry of people who live in certain neighborhoods.

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 9, 2015