We Are 99 % Microbe

Analysts have been concentrating among the dynamic parts of supportive microorganisms inside the human body, and they found out that: “In fact, most of the cells in the human body are not human at all. Bacteria cells in the human body outnumber human cells 10 to one.” (Jennifer Ackerman, 2012, p. 38) Ackerman also expresses that

The Human Body in Health and Illness, 4th Edition Answer Key - Study Guide Chapter 5: Microbiology Basics Part I: Mastering the Basics Matching—Germs, Worms, and Terms 1. G 2. I 3.

* Does obesity affect the community structure? If so, at what taxonomic level does this occur, and does the gut community

The article “Some of My Best Friends are Germs,” by Michael Pollen was a very interesting and informative read. Pollen explains that our bodies house 100s of trillions of microbes. More than 99 percent of our genetic information is microbial. The large number of bacteria that inhabits us weighs many pounds, forming a massive, unexplored world that scientists are just starting to document. These bacteria affect our health as much as if not more than the genes we receive from our parents.

The gut microbiota is extremely diverse – consisting of over 1,000 identified unique species of bacteria. It is indeed difficult to wrap one’s head around it – despite bacteria being microscopically small, and having an undetectable mass, the bacteria of the gut in a human can weigh over 2 pounds! This incredibly diverse mass of bacteria is also mostly unique on an individual basis – over 70% of the bacteria per gut are unique to each person [1]. Thus, the gut microbiota of each individual can effectively function as a unique source of identity.

Before, biologists assumed all microbes are bad for the human body (automatically thought of pathogens), caused many diseases and harm our body fundamental systems. In addition, the biologists think that our body is already built which had all the functions required to maintain our health. However, the attitude has changed over the last decade. The biologists characterized the most prevalent species of microbes in the body, and found out that these collective microbes do not threaten us, and they also are important part of human bodies.

The human microbiome has received more attention in the last few years as scientists have begun to link health and mental wellbeing with these internal synergists. Murray and Manary (2015) define a microbiome as an “ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms living inside the body…100 trillion organisms, including anaerobic bacteria, archaea, yeast and parasites.” Humans are born and immediately exposed to these microbes, creating their own microbiome within hours. The natural birth baby inherits microbes of the mother and caesarian section babies receive microbiota of those who handle them first (Ley, 2006). Genes, and the environment from which they are born into, shape their future microbiome (Ley, Peterson,

Epidemiology – the science that studies when and where diseases occur and how they are transmitted. CDC, Atlanta, tracks and traces diseases. ONE World (the idea that it’s all in one place, it could happen anywhere; locally, states, large counties track the incidences and occurrences of disease)

Both in and on our body, there are 10 bacterial cells for every single human cell. This collection of organisms that inhabit the human body is referred to as the microbiome and accounts for nearly 2% of our total body weight.

When reflecting back to experiment 3, Aseptic Technique and Culturing Microbes, I realized the large amount of microorganisms that can be found in everyday life. Many different types are found with in the human body. Theses experiments focused on two types of bacteria. First was Staphylococcus epidermidis, found on the skin, and second was Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in the gastrointestinal tract. Both have similar needs for growth when it comes to temperature, however, different growth environments are used.

Testing the Effects of Bacteria Growth on a Non-Treated Vs. Treated Hand Name: Laura Torres Biology 1407-P Abstract The objective of this experiment was to test the effects of bacteria using a treated hand and an unwashed hand. Two plates of agar and a hand is used to retrieve the bacteria and then placed in a temperature where they can survive. Different types of bacteria are affected by the environment that slow down or increase the growth of these prokaryotes.

Microbes are everywhere and anywhere. Microbes can be found from on surfaces of our daily lives to microbes we encounter and spread on. Microbes have been always since life started in this planet. According to a BBC article about Earth, “…an older microbe came to light…to be a remarkable 3.5 million years” (BBC). As stated, microbes may be considered to have been here long before any other living organism, which means these microbes have evolved through time as well. With evolving comes the different types of bacteria that may benefit us and also harm us. Harmful bacteria such as Lyme disease and the Plague which both derive from an infected insect with different bacterium. These two different disease made different approaches to our history

The video Animation of Microbiome shows very specific main points of our bodies containing Microbiomes by showing us the virtual understanding and explaining of what their roles are in our human body. Microbiome has a important part in our human body, because without them we could end up having many diseases that make us weak and also they are the ones who fight off the bad diseases that come into our body. They are given to us when we are born and when we are breast feeded and if we aren’t treated right when we are born and with a lot of cleanliness then our body is going to grow up with weak Microbiomes.

Life on this planet began with microorganisms. Through millions of years microorganisms have found ways to successfully adapt and survive. These adaptations have created a wide biodiversity, allowing them to basically populate in all places. Why are these microbes so important? Because they shape the history of our world. Some microbes can be deathly to humans while some others are favorable, for example, bacteria that lives in the gut of both humans and animals and helps during the process of digestion (Alfred Brown & Heidi Smith, 2006). Understanding these interactions help scientists to find ways to protect humans from potential deathly pathogens. In order to observe microbes, microscope proficiency and microorganisms’ identification are crucial skills in a microbiology lab. During this laboratory session, samples of environmental and human organisms were inoculated into two different rich media and incubated to their according temperature. After this, appropriate use and calibration of the microscope was performed. Lastly, morphology and size of different species of bacteria, algae, fungi and protozoan were recorded.

In 2007, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) was begun by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to obtain a better comprehension of the sophisticated biological interactions between the microbiome and human body. By utilizing revolutionary culture-independent technology, the specialists in the HMP plan to accomplish two key points: to test the microbial communities found at various locations in the human body and to examine the function of these microbes in mankind 's health and diseases (Scher and Abramson, 2011). It has become obvious that bacteria groups vary not only among people, but also within human being, dependent on the body site sampled and the sampling time (Pineda et al. 2011; Huttenhower C, 2012).