De Smedt is working with professor Gobbetti, the sourdough microbiologist from Italy, to isolate yeast and bacteria strains and freeze them (which puts the microorganisms in a hibernating state), so they can be preserved in perpetuity. His findings mirror those of the other microbiologists around the world in that similar strains of yeast and bacteria show up everywhere, and there's no way to know how old any of the starters actually are.
