Many biologists who make the journey to Antarctica go to study the continent’s most iconic animals, including emperor penguins and massive humpback whales. But one team, from the Grainger Bioinformatics Center at the Field Museum in Chicago, has a different to-do list. They want to check out the sex lives of patches of greenish-brown “dust” clinging to rocks. These lumps, which at first glance resemble moss, are found around the world but are easy to overlook. Odds are, you’ve walked by some on a tree or cemetery headstone, or even…
