Missing microbes

By Martin Blaser

Learn about the world of the human microbiota

Your body is teeming with tens of trillions of microbes. It's an entire world, a colony full of life

For thousands of years, bacteria and human cells have co-existed in a relationship that has ensured the health and equilibrium of our body. But now, much like the natural world outside of us, our internal environment is being irrevocably destroyed. The culprit: some of our most revered medical advances - antibiotics - which appear to be linked to the epidemics of asthma, eczema, obesity, certain forms of cancer, and other diseases plaguing modern society. Blaser sounds an alarm that is worth listening to and acting upon.