Are we Human or are we Microbe (Hosts)?

The human gut microbiome is incredibly important for our health. Decades of research have uncovered the enormous biological complexity of this ecosystem, with about 200 bacterial and fungal species living in each human gut, that harbour together 1000 times more genes and 10 times more cells than us – their host! My research combines microbiology, bioinformatics and ecology, to develop computational models to break down the intrinsic microbial complexity. In this talk, I will show how innovations nowadays can help us to identify healthy gut microbiomes, and those on the verge of collapsing.

Our skin is home to thousands of bacteria and our skin microbiome changes a lot from birth to adulthood, but how do we know which micro-organisms are good or bad for us? In this talk you'll find out what lurks about on your skin, and how bacteria are more often than not, our friends.

When investigating microbes, scientists first collect a sample. It could be mouth swabs, blood, or even poop! Then the DNA is extracted from these samples. From this DNA, scientists may look at a single gene or the whole DNA. Either way, it is then analysed with the help of a computer and put into colourful graphs to visualise the information. I will tell you all about this journey; from sampling of the microscopic organisms inside us to visualising their genetic code. Join us to see a demonstration of how it works!