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It's Wednesday, January 4th, 20 2020. I'm Jackson Bird today. Could a poop vault become the Svalbard Global Seed Vault's newest neighbor? Some scientists think it could be a pretty crappy move. Plus, the U.S. congressman who's slated to be sworn in on a Superman comic,

and The History of the World Part 2. Here's some cool stuff for your ride home.

You know the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where seeds from crops around the world are stored

in a secure backup facility in case of some sort of disaster that would threaten the global

food supply.

But what about a poop vault?

You heard me, a poop vault.

Okay, technically a human-associated microbiota vault, but it would be made up of stool samples.

That is the mission of the microbiota vault, a global non-profit working to secure long-term human health

by collecting and preserving microbiota from populations around the world.

Quoting inverse, the human microbiome is so complex,

some call it the second genome. An ecosystem of bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and viruses,

the genetic material within these mostly intestinal microbes influences everything from

the immune system to our emotional state.

Fecal specimens, while imperfect, are proxies for gut microbiota because they contain

these microbes.

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