Elaine Hsiao - Microbiota and gut feelings
"We have evolved with trillions of microorganisms that inhabit the human body."
Everybody has, at one point, wondered what we as humans are and are made of. Elaine Hsiao, Senior Research Fellow at the California Institute of Technology, responds to the latter with a simple answer: microorganisms.
They are also referred to as "the forgotten organ", since not a lot of people are actually aware that more than 10 000 unique species of microbiota inhabit every exposed surface of the body. Not only do these play important roles in biological processes - they also impact behaviour, health and disease.
