Sunday, December 09, 2007

Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones

That's the title of this recent article in Scientific American:

Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones,
You are more bacteria than you are you, according to the latest body census


So, not only am I made up of more bacterial cells than Bix cells, some of my genes may be bacterial too?
"But the bacterial body has made another contribution to our humanity—genes. Soon after the Human Genome Project published its preliminary results in 2001, a group of scientists announced that a handful of human genes—the consensus today is around 40—appear to be bacterial in origin."
Talk about a symbiotic relationship. Maybe I only exist to feed my bacteria. That would explain why I crave all the foods they love.
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Photo of Bifidobacterium cells adhering to the colon wall from Microbe Wiki.

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