Dust from California’s drying Salton Sea doesn’t just smell bad. Scientists from UC Riverside found that breathing the dust can quickly re-shape the microscopic world inside the lungs.

Genetic or bacterial diseases have previously been shown to have an effect on lung microbes. However, this discovery marks the first time scientists have observed such changes from environmental exposure rather than a disease.

Published in the journal mSphere, the study shows that inhalation of airborne dust collected close to the shallow, landlocked lake alters both the microbial landscape and immune responses in mice that were otherwise healthy.