Genomics
Scientists mobilize to map U.S. soil microbiome
Published Jan 6, 2026Johns Hopkins University geneticists and a small army of researchers across the country, including students, are working to catalog the vast and largely unknown soil microbiome of the U.S. The project, one of the biggest microbiome studies ever attempted, has already resulted in the discovery of more than 1,000 new strains of bacteria and never-before-seen microbes—still just a tiny fraction of the microbial dark matter.
