RATS ON THE WEST SIDE, bedbugs uptown. “Recently, a team of pathogen hunters at Columbia University went on an expedition closer to home. They conducted a survey of the viruses and bacteria in Manhattan’s rats, the first attempt to use DNA to catalog pathogens in any animal species in New York City. . . . On Tuesday, Dr. Lipkin and his colleagues published their initial results in the journal mBio. Although the scientists examined just 133 rats, they found plenty of pathogens. Some caused food-borne illnesses. Others, like Seoul hantavirus, had never before been found in New York. Others were altogether new to science.”

Takeaway: “I think people are going to have to start paying attention to this. But that’s Bill de Blasio’s problem. I’m just doing the science.” Yeah, I’m confident that de Blasio will do a great job on this.