Main content

Microbes and Humans: The Science of Living Together

New insights into the human microbiome, the bacteria, fungi and other organisms which make their home in and on our bodies.

The Obama administration recently announced it will spend over a hundred million dollars on deepening our knowledge of the human microbiome - the bacteria, fungi, viruses and other organisms which make their home in and on our bodies. Bridget Kendall is joined by three people whose work in different ways enriches our appreciation of the world of human microbiota - the epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse, microbiology educator Christine Marizzi and gut flora researcher Jeroen Raes.

(Photo: The NYC Biome MAP part of the Collective Urban Biome MAP project. Credit: Genspace NYC and The DNA Learning Center)

Available now

41 minutes

Last on

Wed 29 Jun 2016 01:06GMT
BBC World Service Australasia

More episodes

Previous

Unfinished: The Art of the Incomplete

Next

Defiance: Why Are Some People More Defiant than Others?

See all episodes from The Forum

Clip

Mark Woolhouse

Mark Woolhouse is Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and a frequent advisor to the UK government and other national and international agencies.  His main interests are emerging infectious diseases and the links between human and animal health.

Christine Marizzi

Dr. Christine Marizzi is an Austrian-trained microbiologist and educator at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.  Her innovative projects for students of different ages include the Urban Biome MAP, the Urban Barcode Project and the Harlem DNA Lab.

Jeroen Raes

Professor Jeroen Raes is the director of the VIB lab for Bioinformatics and (eco-) systems biology at KU Leuven in Belgium. He is lead author of one of the first large-scale studies of human gut flora.

The NYC Biome MAP of the Collective Urban Biome MAP project

The NYC Biome MAP of the Collective Urban Biome MAP project
Credit: Genspace NYC and The DNA Learning Center.

Project Leader: Nurit Bar-Shai
Scientific Leader: Christine Marizzi
Genspace Members: Ali Schachtschneider, Marta Molina Gomez
Design and Production: Nurit Bar-Shai, Ali Schachtschneider, Marta Molina Gomez
Design Associate: OMTA
Support: The New Museum, IDEAS CITY 2015, Genspace NYC, Inc, The DNA Learning Center,  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory



Broadcasts

  • Mon 27 Jun 2016 01:06GMT
    BBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, Australasia & News Internet
  • Mon 27 Jun 2016 04:06GMT
    BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
  • Tue 28 Jun 2016 08:06GMT
    BBC World Service except News Internet
  • Tue 28 Jun 2016 23:06GMT
    BBC World Service except News Internet
  • Wed 29 Jun 2016 01:06GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia

Podcast

  • The Forum

    The programme that explains the present by exploring the past

Related Links