Health and Our Microbiome

Humans are just a speck in a massively bacterial world. 

Living in and on us, microbes make up 70 to 90 percent of all cells in our bodies—our microbiome—and our health depends upon them. What makes some of these bacteria benign and others cause disease, like antibiotic-resistant superbugs? What are the health effects of antibiotic overuse, and how can we restore depleted microbiomes? What can we learn from sequencing the DNA of these extraordinarily diverse ecosystems, and from the microorganism communities around us—our macrobiomes? The answers have fascinating and critically important implications for how we track pathogens, prevent disease, and stay healthy.

Video SciCafe: The Power of Poop Are fecal transplants the future of treating certain life-threatening diseases? Article The Ecosystem In Your Belly Button Human navels host a diverse ecosystem of bacteria, with some species unique to individuals. September 25, 2015 Video Microbes of New York Meet some of the microbes that call the city home. Video SciCafe: Microbes in the House Recent discoveries from the invisible world of the microbiome. Article Meet Your Microbiome Explore how changes in the human microbiome may be contributing to an increase in obesity and other chronic conditions. Exhibition The Secret World Inside You Explore the human microbiome and find out how rapidly evolving science is reshaping our ideas about human health. November 7, 2015 — August 14, 2016 Blog Post Q&A: Mapping the Urban Microbiome What does the genetic fingerprint of New York City look like? Microbiome researcher Chris Mason, who recently gave a talk at SciCafe,... March 5, 2015 Game Bacteria in the Cafeteria Game Some microbes make us sick. Most are helpful. Play this game to find out more about them. Article The Poop Cure Using Fecal Microbiota Transplantation to fight disease in the gut. Teaching Case Bacteria Evolving: Tracing the Origins of a MRSA Epidemic These teaching case materials show practicing physicians and infectious disease specialists studying the origins and impacts of pathogens. Video Ask a Scientist About Microbes In these videos, microbiologist Susan Perkins answers kids’ questions about microbes. Blog Post The Microbiome of Home Explore the unique populations of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that inhabit different rooms in your home. June 15, 2016 Game How Lou Got the Flu How can the influenza virus travel around the world? Find out in this quizzy story!

This project is supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).