Each human being is host to a microbiota, an ecosystem made up of trillions of bacteria that inhabit the surfaces and crevices of our body and especially the insides of our large intestine. In this episode we’ll look at the ecology inside our gut, where bacteria are on a constant quest to feed and multiply, while bacteriophages scheme to snatch their minuscule bodies for their own reproductive purposes.
Our guide is molecular biologist Dr. Laura Bridgewater. She’ll tell us how our microbiota influences our weight, our health, and even our personality. Believe me – it’s a zoo down there!
Resources on the episode on gut microbiota:
- Dr. Laura Bridgewater’s web page at Brigham Young University.
- Does the beef you buy in the grocery store contain antibiotics? Consumer Reports explains what “No Antibiotics” in meat production really means. And the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the University of Minnesota points out, “While US meat producers are no longer allowed to use antibiotics to promote animal growth, they can still use them to prevent bacterial diseases in flocks and herds, a practice the World Health Organization has called on countries to end in order to prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance.”
- What are bacteriophages? The Khan Academy explains.
- Our gut microbiota may be connected with auto-immune problems such as rheumatoid arthritis. This report by Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory (on p. 24, table 5), for example, lists five opportunistic bacteria and two viruses as associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Consumer Reports (in a 2017 article) asks: Should you have your microbiome analyzed?
“You’ve Got Your Own Private Zoo – It’s Called Your Microbiota” – Episode Transcript
To view the episode transcript, click here to open the pdf file.