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"uBiome is a citizen science project that allows the public access to cutting edge sequencing technology to understand their health through the microbiome. How does the microbiome affect my health? We are all covered in trillions of microbes -- in fact, they outnumber human cells 10:1. The trillions of bacteria live on and in us are collectively called the microbiome. Like the rainforest, the healthy human microbiome is a balanced ecosystem. The correct balance of microbes keeps potential pathogens in check and regulates our immune system. Microbes also perform essential functions such as digesting food and synthesizing vitamins. Studies have also linked the microbiome to human mood and behavior, as well as many gut disorders, eczema, and chronic sinusitis."

You could be sitting alone and still be completely outnumbered for your body is home to trillions upon trillions of tiny passengers - bacteria. Your body is made up of around ten trillion cells, but you harbour a hundred trillion bacteria. For every gene in your genome, there are 100 bacterial ones. This is your 'microbiome' and it has a huge impact on your health, your ability to digest food and more. We, in turn, affect them. Everything from the food we eat to the way we're born influences the species of bacteria that take up residence in our bodies.This slideshow is a tour through this "universe of us". Every slide has links to previous pieces that I've written on the subject if you want to delve deeper.Image by David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images

""There are flash bulbs going off in the dark, suggesting that very complex neurodegenerative disorders may be linked to the microbiome. But once again this is very speculative. These seminal findings, the flash bulbs, are only just beginning to illuminate our vision of the gut-microbiome-brain connection," said Mazmanian"

"Among the five ape species tested, the "universal" primers detected an average of 6 species per animal. The Archaea-specific primers revealed an average of 95.... By simply looking more closely and more specifically for Archaea, Raymann and her colleagues revealed a conspicuous gap in microbiome research"

"Our knowledge of species and functional composition of the human gut microbiome is rapidly increasing, but it is still based on very few cohorts and little is known about variation across the world. By combining 22 newly sequenced faecal metagenomes of individuals from four countries with previously published data sets, here we identify three robust clusters (referred to as enterotypes hereafter) that are not nation or continent specific. We also confirmed the enterotypes in two published, larger cohorts, indicating that intestinal microbiota variation is generally stratified, not continuous. This indicates further the existence of a limited number of well-balanced host-microbial symbiotic states that might respond differently to diet and drug intake."

Robert Friedland #microbiome Schlaganfall Streptococcus mutans

Robert Friedland #microbiome Schlaganfall Streptococcus mutans

"Hundreds of species of bacteria call the human gut their home. This gut "microbiome" influences our physiology and health in ways that scientists are only beginning to understand. Now, a new study suggests that gut bacteria can even mess with the mind, altering brain chemistry and changing mood and behavior. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in how gut bacteria might influence the brain and behavior, says John Cryan, a neuroscientist at University College Cork in Ireland. So far, most of the work has focused on how pathogenic bugs influence the brain by releasing toxins or stimulating the immune system, Cryan says. One recent study suggested that even benign bacteria can alter the brain and behavior, but until now there has been very little work in this area, Cryan says."

"Hundreds of species of bacteria call the human gut their home. This gut "microbiome" influences our physiology and health in ways that scientists are only beginning to understand. Now, a new study suggests that gut bacteria can even mess with the mind, altering brain chemistry and changing mood and behavior. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in how gut bacteria might influence the brain and behavior, says John Cryan, a neuroscientist at University College Cork in Ireland. So far, most of the work has focused on how pathogenic bugs influence the brain by releasing toxins or stimulating the immune system, Cryan says. One recent study suggested that even benign bacteria can alter the brain and behavior, but until now there has been very little work in this area, Cryan says."

"Was die Zellzahl angeht, besteht jeder Mensch zu 90 Prozent aus Mikroben", sagt Dennis Kasper von der Harvard Medical School in Boston. Die Hauptmasse dieser Mitbewohner des menschlichen Körpers lebt im Darm. Sie unterstützen nicht nur die Verdauung, sondern sind für unsere Gesundheit generell unverzichtbar. So wie sie sich speziell an ihren Wirt angepasst haben, hat sich auch unser Organismus an die Mikroben angepasst. Insbesondere hängt die normale Entwicklung des Immunsystems von der Mitwirkung der Darmkeime ab. Das schließen Kasper und seine Kollegen aus ihren Experimenten mit Mäusen, die in keimfreier Umgebung gehalten wurden. In den bakterienfreien Darm neugeborener Mäuse übertrugen die Forscher ein natürliches Gemisch von Darmmikroben, das entweder von gesunden Mäusen oder von gesunden Menschen stammte. In beiden Fällen kam es zum Wachstum von Bakterien in ähnlich hoher Zahl und mit einem ähnlich breiten Artenspektrum. Beide Bakterienpopulationen waren aber aus sehr unterschiedlichen Keimspezies zusammengesetzt, wie DNA-Analysen zeigten. Die Untersuchung von Darmlymphknoten ergab, dass sich bei den Mäusen mit den „menschlichen" Darmkeimen genauso wenige Immunzellen entwickelt hatten wie bei Mäusen, deren Darm völlig keimfrei blieb. „Es schien so, als ob diese Mäuse die Bakterien gar nicht erkennen würden", sagt Hachung Chung, ein Mitglied des Forscherteams"

"Für ihre Studie verabreichten die Forscher Mäusen eine Substanz, die Reaktionen wie bei einer Infektion auslöst: Die Tiere aßen und tranken kaum und verloren schließlich an Körpergewicht. Bereits wenige Stunden nach dem Auslösen dieses experimentellen Krankheitszustandes belegten Untersuchungen, dass die Oberfläche des Dünndarms der Versuchstiere L-Fucose bildete. Dies stellten die Forscher nur im Rahmen der „krankheitsbedingten" Appetitlosigkeit fest. Normalerweise ist diese Zuckerform im Darm von Mäusen nämlich kaum nachweisbar."

"So far the treatment, known as faecal transplant, has been tested only on a drug resistant form of the bowel disease caused by the bacterium clostridium difficile. Antibiotics are unreliable against the superbug, but the transplant is 95% successful, saving patients from constant stomach cramps and chronic diarrhoea. "It sounds radical but it makes a lot of sense," said Seppelt on Thursday at a gathering of more than 4,000 Australasian anaesthetists and surgeons. "Usually patients are sufficiently miserable to go ahead, often using a donation from a relative." Healthy humans have about 100 times more bacteria cells in their gut than their own cells."