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Even the cleanest of houses have a little dust, but did you ever think that analyzing that dust would say something about you? Last year 1,200 people sent in dust samples from their homes across the U.S. as part of citizen science project called Wild Life of Our Homes. Scientists analyzed the samples and discovered 9,000 unique microbes, with an average of 7,000 being bacterial. There were also insect parts, pollen, dead animal cells, dry wall powder, carpet fibers, and soil particles, but don’t get freaked out. Noah Fierer, a microbial ecologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder says, “I don’t want [anyone] to get paranoid about this. Most of the organisms are completely innocuous and may be beneficial.” The top things your dust will give away, however, is whether a cat or dog lives in your home, and even if the home is inhabited primarily by men or women. (Newser) (Image: commons.wikimedia.org)