We all carry about 3 pounds of microbes with us, mostly in our gut. Bacterial cells outnumber our “human” cells by a factor of 10 to 1 — meaning we’re really 90 percent microbe!

Scientists now think these microbes influence our risk of many ailments, including heart disease, asthma, allergies and obesity

The also think our modern lifestyle has hurt this community of organisms. They’re searching the world for the community of microbes that existed before it was presumably ruined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwMYgo6sXnY

Science writer Moises-Velasquez Manoff returns to Latino USA to talk about the neighbors who live inside of us.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons User Marco Tolo 

Moises Velasquez-Manoff has written extensively, mostly on science and environment, for The Christian Science Monitor. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and the Indianapolis Star, among other publications. He holds a master of arts, with a concentration in science writing, from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.