“Jun and Kathryn, at every stage, treated the samples as precious items, taking exceptional care and using the cleanest technique to prevent contamination from bacterial DNA in the lab and reagents.”

Colorado State University research group, including graduate student Kathryn Moore and research scientist, first author Jun Uetake, found an atmospheric region unchanged by human-related activities. Coauthor, research scientist Thomas Hill noted the contribution of Moore and Uetake.

Kathryn Moore, Ph.D. student in atmospheric science; Jun Uetake, postdoctoral atmospheric scientist, and Thomas Hill, research scientist at Colorado State University, also wrote this piece for The Conversation in June 2020.