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Your shower pipes are alive.\xa0So are your sinks, books, and floorboards.\xa0New studies of our homes are revealing just what species live there \u2013 in the thousands, from bacteria to flies to millipedes.\xa0Meanwhile, life keeps surprising us by popping up in other unexpected places: the deep biosphere houses the majority of the world\u2019s bacteria and the Arctic tundra has kept worms frozen, but alive, for 40,000 years.\nWe embrace the multitude of life living on us, in us, and \u2013 as it turns out \u2013 in every possible ecological niche.\xa0Most of it is harmless, some is beneficial, and it\u2019s all testament to the amazing diversity and adaptability of life.\xa0In addition, the hardiest organisms suggest where we might find life beyond Earth.\nGuests:\n\n\nRob Dunn\xa0\u2013 Professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University and at the Natural History Museum at the University of Copenhagen. Author of \u201cNever Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live.\u201d\n\n\nLynn Rothschild\xa0\u2013 Astrobiologist and synthetic biologist at the NASA Ames Research Center.\n\n\nKaren Lloyd\xa0\u2013 Environmental microbiologist and associate professor at the University of Tennessee.\n\nOriginally aired January 21, 2019\nFeaturing music by\xa0Dewey Dellay\xa0and\xa0Jun Miyake\nA special offer to Big Picture Science listeners: Receive 60% off the first month of a MEL Physics, MEL Chemistry or MEL STEM subscription.\xa0Just go to MELscience.com and use the promo code BPS or follow this link: https://melscience.com/sBI3/.\xa0You like science, that\u2019s why you listen to Big Picture Science.\xa0So why not check out MEL science for your kids?\nBig Picture Science is part of the\xa0Airwave Media\xa0podcast network.\xa0Please contact\xa0sales@advertisecast.com\xa0to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.\nYou can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on\xa0Patreon. Thanks for your support!\n\xa0\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices