Australia's national multicultural broadcaster, SBS aired the first of a two part documentary last night about the 90% of us that isn't us, ie all the minute bacterial cells that outnumber our body cells by a factor of 10.
"There is an unexplored planet in the Solar System.This planet is the human body and it’s teeming with unknown ecosystems. Our bodies are home to a trillion cells that are not us. This hidden world of 'bugs' is brought to life through personal accounts, scientific breakthroughs and special imaging technology."
The first episode explores in some detail how reliant we are on maintaining a healthy human microbiome to keep us healthy. Rather chilling is the story of a man that ended up nearly losing is leg from a rampaging staphylococcal infection from a small cut he received while going for a swim in a hotel pool.
Australians that missed last night's episode can watch the hour long episode via the following web page:
sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/2...
I expect non Australian viewers should also be able to view it via the above link. Could someone please confirm?
Puts into perspective why we need to be careful with our use of antibiotics and why poo transplants can be life savers.
A review of the first episode can be found here:
theconversation.com/life-on...
Neil
Well Fancy That!
