Bacterial Life On and In Humans Orchestrates Health and Disease

Article

A mounting tide of scientific evidence suggests that the old adage from Aesop's fables "You are known by the company you keep" also applies to the trillions of microscopic bacteria and viruses that live on the human body. Humanity's invisible but constant companions more bacteria hang out on the palms of your hands than there are people on Earth is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society. 

C&EN associate editor Sarah Everts notes in the article that the astonishing diversity of microbes inhabiting every inch of the skin and parts of the interior profoundly influences your quality of life mostly for good from cradle to grave. Microbes protect people from disease, make essential vitamins, and provide digestive enzymes needed to break down plant fibers for energy. Microbes also may have a say in whether people are skinny or fat and how they smell.

In the past three years, scientists have begun several large projects to map the diversity and activities of these microbes in hopes of linking them to health and disease. The projects include the National Institutes of Health's Human Microbiome Project and the European Union's Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract. These and other projects are starting to reveal that every part of the body has its own ecosystem, much like the diversity of landscapes on Earth.

Recent Videos
Roundtable of Vet IPs
Meet Marjorie Wall, EDBA, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CSSBB.
A veterinarian in a protective suit takes tests on animals on a farm.   (Adobe Stock 829620654 by Яна Ерік Татевосян)
David Angulo, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fungal Disease Expert
Neatly Stacked Hospital Linen, Clean Fabric in Turquoise, White, and Blue Hues. Created by AI.  (Adobe Stock 1103251410 by HQAsset)
Valerie Cadet, PhD, a virologist, immunologist, and vaccinologist at PCOM Georgia
Vector-borne Diseases  (Adobe Stock)
Chicago’s Dental Society Midwinter Meeting  (Adobe Stock 7622055 by abricotine)
Cameron Memorial Community Hospital Series With ICT
Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, MD, senior fellow of the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Related Content