Comments on: Your Inner Amazon http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2010/02/03/your-inner-amazon/ A blog about life, past and future. Written by DISCOVER contributing editor and columnist Carl Zimmer. Sat, 26 May 2012 01:25:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: A Day Among the Genomes | The Loom | Discover Magazine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2010/02/03/your-inner-amazon/comment-page-1/#comment-30527 A Day Among the Genomes | The Loom | Discover Magazine Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:30:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/?p=2285#comment-30527 [...] have made of the human microbiome. He described some of the work I’ve blogged about here on the Loom, along with other results. He described, for example, how children become coated with [...] [...] have made of the human microbiome. He described some of the work I’ve blogged about here on the Loom, along with other results. He described, for example, how children become coated with [...]

]]> By: Steve D http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2010/02/03/your-inner-amazon/comment-page-1/#comment-28703 Steve D Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:02:50 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/?p=2285#comment-28703 Microbes outnumber our cells ten to one. Wow! Or, maybe, wait a minute. Most of my body is tissue, sealed off by skin, skull, and membranes from the outside world. The most likely place for microbes to live is in the void spaces in my body: digestive tract, sinuses, lungs, etc. Those spaces make up just a few per cent of my body and they are mostly empty because the space is needed for air and food. If microbes outnumber our cells ten to one, they ought to occupy at least as much volume as our cells (assuming they are a lot smaller than our cells). I want to see the data supporting this claim. I'm, well, skeptical. <strong>[CZ: Microbes are much smaller than human cells. See <a href="http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/" rel="nofollow">this scale</a>.]</strong> Microbes outnumber our cells ten to one. Wow! Or, maybe, wait a minute. Most of my body is tissue, sealed off by skin, skull, and membranes from the outside world. The most likely place for microbes to live is in the void spaces in my body: digestive tract, sinuses, lungs, etc. Those spaces make up just a few per cent of my body and they are mostly empty because the space is needed for air and food. If microbes outnumber our cells ten to one, they ought to occupy at least as much volume as our cells (assuming they are a lot smaller than our cells). I want to see the data supporting this claim. I’m, well, skeptical.

[CZ: Microbes are much smaller than human cells. See this scale.]

]]> By: Brian http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2010/02/03/your-inner-amazon/comment-page-1/#comment-28673 Brian Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:29:45 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/?p=2285#comment-28673 This interview is filled with "Wow!" information! It certainly matches your own description in the intro... "mind-blowing", and "stunning". I suppose the "ewwww" factor keeps this off the front pages and even may explain the lack of comments here. My personal highlights are... * there are literally 100's of microbe species just on our toungue, in our gut and on our palms. Eighty or so on our foreheads. This number will probably climb as counting techniques improve. * One microbe species does not make up more than 10% of the total number in a single environment.... diverse!! * Women have 30% more diversity on their palms compared to men, even after accounting for hand-washing frequency. * My gut's microbiome may be 90% different than yours, but other body areas are often very similar. * Because of all this diversity, studying single species in a petri dish will never show the full picture. * The uniqueness of your gut microbiome can determine how drugs affect you. I can imagine "gut-check" will take on a whole new meaning in the future! Good stuff Carl, keep it coming! :) Brian This interview is filled with “Wow!” information! It certainly matches your own description in the intro… “mind-blowing”, and “stunning”. I suppose the “ewwww” factor keeps this off the front pages and even may explain the lack of comments here.

My personal highlights are…

* there are literally 100′s of microbe species just on our toungue, in our gut and on our palms. Eighty or so on our foreheads. This number will probably climb as counting techniques improve.
* One microbe species does not make up more than 10% of the total number in a single environment…. diverse!!
* Women have 30% more diversity on their palms compared to men, even after accounting for hand-washing frequency.
* My gut’s microbiome may be 90% different than yours, but other body areas are often very similar.
* Because of all this diversity, studying single species in a petri dish will never show the full picture.
* The uniqueness of your gut microbiome can determine how drugs affect you. I can imagine “gut-check” will take on a whole new meaning in the future!

Good stuff Carl, keep it coming! :)
Brian

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