Dr. Charles Gerba and Household Germs.

In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin Blaser argues that the overuse of antibiotics, as well as now-common practices like C-sections, may be messing with gut microbes.

Researchers want to create a widely effective drug that targets viruses much in the same way that penicillin kills a wide range of bacteria. Science writer Carl Zimmer profiles the scientists who are developing these antiviral drugs, and the technology behind it, in his latest piece for Wired magazine.

You may be shocked by what's living in your home — the bacteria, the fungi, viruses, parasites and insects. Probably many more organisms than you imagined.

"Every surface; every bit of air; every bit of water in your home is alive," says Rob Dunn, a professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. "The average house has thousands of species."