How much do you know about the human microbiome?

What's Living in You? A Look into the Microbial Zoo Inside Our Bodies

"NOVA Wonders" explores the mysteries of the universe, including life on faraway planets and the potential of artificial intelligence
The show's scientists, André Fenton, Rana El Kaliouby, and Talithia Williams, tackle the biggest questions in science
The episode "What's Living in You?" delves into the invisible world of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi
Trillions of these creatures live on and inside our bodies, making up our microbiome
Our microbiome plays a vital role in our health, helping with digestion and fighting off dangerous invaders
Bacteria, in particular, have been around since the beginning of life on Earth, with evidence of their existence appearing over three billion years ago
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria in the late 1600s, opening up a new world of microbiology
Louis Pasteur's germ theory in the 1800s led to the discovery of specific pathogens that cause human suffering, such as tuberculosis and measles
Michelle Trautwein studies face mites, which have been with humans since our origins and live all over our bodies
Trautwein is building the largest database of mite DNA ever collected, hoping to learn more about our own history
Harvard scientist Piotr Naskrecki allowed a botfly larva to grow to adulthood in his arm, realizing that our bodies are inhabited by a number of organisms
Scientists are still exploring the microbial zoo inside our bodies, discovering how these tiny creatures can make us sick and keep us well, challenging everything we thought we knew about human biologyThe Complex Relationship Between Humans and Microbes
Pathogens can make us sick by secreting molecules that drain fluids and nutrients from our cells or by releasing toxins that block neurotransmitters and paralyze muscles.
Microbes have evolved ways of manipulating and killing off other microbes, producing toxins that can make humans sick.
British microbiologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1928, which transformed modern medicine.
Antibiotics have been around for billions of years, as single-celled organisms have been fighting for space and resources by producing chemicals to kill each other off.
Since the discovery of penicillin, dozens of antibiotics have been produced to cure a range of ailments, fueling an all-out war on germs.
Microbiologist Jack Gilbert believes that modern living has isolated humans from key microbes that evolved with us, which affects our health and wellness.
Exposure to many bacteria can help train our immune systems not to overreact to the world, preventing allergy symptoms.
The Amish, despite vaccinating their children and using antibiotics, have half as many allergies as the general population, possibly due to their constant exposure to the microbial world of the farm.
Ulcers were once thought to be caused by stress and unhealthy lifestyle choices, but Australian doctors Barry Marshall and Robin Warren discovered that a bacterium called H. pylori caused ulcers.
After the discovery of H. pylori, U.S. doctors wrote millions of antibiotic prescriptions aimed at killing the microbe, but recent research suggests that its elimination may have caused a rise in cancer, allergies, asthma, and obesity.
Scientists are discovering that microbes are not just pathogens, but some are also helpful, breaking down our last meal and producing vitamins our body needs.
At the University of California, San Diego, scientists are collecting thousands of samples from donors worldwide to build a map of what lives in and on us to understand how microbes can make us healthy.The Power of Gut Microbes and Fecal Transplants
The study of microbiome, the trillions of microbial genes in our bodies, has become possible with the sequencing of DNA data using powerful supercomputers.
The goal is to identify the microbes that inhabit us and what combination makes our bodies healthy or unhealthy.
The key to a healthy microbiome is balance and diversity, with patterns suggesting that collections of microbes, rather than single microbes, are important for health properties.
Many studies have found a connection between microbial diversity and health, which may revolutionize how we understand and treat our bodies.
Fecal microbiome transplants, also known as fecal transplants, involve the transfer of healthy gut bacteria from a donor to a sick patient to treat a gut infection called Clostridium difficile.
Fecal transplants are highly effective and work about 89% of the time, compared to antibiotics that only work about 40% of the time.
Antibiotics can kill off diverse microbes that usually keep C. diff in check, leading to greater C. diff resistance and making it difficult to treat.
Microbes can affect what travels on the neural superhighway between the gut and the brain, with certain bacteria producing neurotransmitters that change brain chemistry, potentially causing conditions like depression, anxiety, autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ADHD.
Germ-free mice are used to study the effect of the microbiome on the brain, with Parkinson's disease and autism being linked to gut disorders.
Parkinson's patients exhibit severe constipation, and gut bacteria from humans with Parkinson's transplanted into mice resulted in the animals developing all the features of Parkinson's, including motor symptoms.
Autism-like symptoms in mice were linked to leaky gut, where the walls of the intestines become more permeable, allowing harmful particles produced by microbes to pass into the bloodstream.
When the mice were given a bacteria called B. fragilis, believed to help seal gut walls, gastrointestinal and autism symptoms improved.The Microbiome: Unlocking the Secrets of Our Body's Ecosystem
The human body contains trillions of microbes that make up the microbiome, which has a significant impact on our health and well-being.
The microbiome has been linked to a range of diseases, including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, and even mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
Researchers are using fecal transplants to restore healthy bacteria to the gut and treat conditions like Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections.
Fecal transplants involve taking stool from a healthy donor and transplanting it into the gut of a sick patient, where it can help restore balance to the microbiome.
OpenBiome is a nonprofit stool bank that screens donors rigorously for diseases and other risk factors before providing fecal transplants to patients.
Animal studies have shown promising results in using the microbiome to reverse symptoms of conditions like autism, but it's still too early to know if these treatments will work in humans.
The microbiome is a complex ecosystem, and researchers are still trying to understand how different microbes interact with each other and with our bodies.
The microbiome is affected by a range of factors, including diet, medication use, and lifestyle factors like stress and exercise.
The microbiome is unique to each individual, and even identical twins can have very different microbiomes.
The field of microbiome research is still in its early days, and there's much to learn about how the microbiome affects our health and how we can harness its power to treat disease.
Understanding the microbiome is an important step in understanding ourselves as a "super-organism" that includes both human and microbial cells.
The search for life beyond Earth is also focused on finding microbial ecosystems that could offer clues to the origins of life and the potential for life elsewhere in the universe.