The Creation of Adam is one of the most famous artworks in history. God points his finger at the naked AdamThe name given in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament to the first human. , bringing him to life.

Painted by MichelangeloAn Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect and poet. He lived from 1475 to 1564. on the ceiling of the Sistine ChapelA room in the Vatican City whose ceiling is painted by the Renaissance artist Michelangelo., it illustrates the Bible story describing the birth of the first man. This tale has been adopted by various religions, including Christianity and Islam. In it, God says to his creation: "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

For centuries these words were believed to be a poetic description of the state of man, rather than the actual truth. But new research suggests that it may be true after all. We humans might be made of dust.

Dust is a collection of microscopicSo small that they can only be seen with a microscope. particles of material that floats in the air. It is heavy enough that, in certain light conditions, we can see it. But it is light enough to blow around in the wind.

It can include rock, sand, cement, dirt, bacteriaA large group of single-cell microorganisms. Some cause disease in animals and humans. , ash, smoke, pollen and salt. As researcher Jay Owens writes: "Almost everything can become dust, given time."

That includes us. Our dead hair and skin falls off and becomes dust. If a person is crematedTo burn a dead person's body, usually as part of a funeral ceremony. after death, they become an ash that floats around with other dust. If buried, our body decomposes and our skeleton breaks down into bone dust. 

Owens has written a new book, Dust: The Modern World in a Trillion Particles, that explores the extraordinary extent to which dust affects our lives.

Dust is everywhere. Cities are choked with soot from exhaust fumes, ash from cigarettes and pollen from plants. Every time a bike or car wheel rolls against tarmac, some dust is released.¹ 

Dust can be dangerous. Air pollutionThe presence in the air of harmful or poisonous substances. Air pollution can cause many health problems. is the fifth biggest cause of death in the world, causing 4.2m lives to be lost each year. In 2013, nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah died after a strange cough. Seven years later it was declared that London's air pollution was to blame.²

This idea of dust as something we can inhale, however, suggests that it is different to the matter that makes us. If it is dangerous to us, then how can it be the same as us.

It is religious believers that might disagree that God is speaking literal truth. Christians and Muslims both think that humans have an eternal soul. Our body may become dust, but something of us remains.

Yes: God is completely correct. The universe is made of dust. Dust is all around us. The elements that we are made of came from cosmic dust. And we will one day return to ash and air particles.

No: Humans breathe in, emit and return to particles. But our idea of dust is a distinctive one that refers to the dirt that builds up on our bodies and surfaces, outside people rather than in them.

Or... Dust is everywhere. As Owens writes, it is "a symbol of time, decay and death - and also the residue of life". But we need to distinguish between the different types of particles that we call dust.