A recent analysis of dust samples gathered from 1,200 homes across America, it has been found that majority of humans live with a few thousand species of bacteria and around 2,000 species of fungi. These microscopic communities can unveil about the people they live with.

Noah Fierer, a microbial ecologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said that people need to be scared after reading this. Most of the organisms are harmless and some of them are even beneficial.

Study researchers have said that a home's bacteria community changes whether there is any pet animal present and also on the basis of number of men and women living in the home. On the other hand, the composition of the fungi community can reveal about climate and geographical region a person lives in.

The researchers involved citizen scientists across the nation through a website called Your Wild Life. Volunteers were sent a sterile cotton-tipped swab and were asked to swipe it above the door trim of the both sides of door, interior and exterior.

Household dust is made up of insect parts, pollen, dead human cells, dry wall powder, carpet fibers and soil particles. There are also thing like airborne bacteria and fungi in it. The double sampling allowed the researchers to see if there is any difference in the microbial populations inside and outside.

Participants were also asked to complete a survey having questions like age of their house, number of bedrooms in it and how many times windows are left open among other questions.

It was found that most of the fungi come from outside of the home. On the other hand, bacteria communities are linked with people and their pets.