Hacking biology

Main post link -> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/say-hello-to-the-100-trillion-bacteria-that-make-up-your-microbiome.html?_r=0

Bill Gates famously said that if he were a teenager today, he’d be hacking biology: “If you want to change the world in some big way, that’s where you should start – biological molecules.”

I thought this article was a fascinating introduction to the microbiome in our bodies – the several hundred microbial species with whom we share our bodies. There are 100 trillion of these bacteria on our skin, on our tongues, and in our guts.

My favorite excerpt: "In sheer numbers, these microbes and their genes dwarf us. It turns out that we are only 10 percent human: for every human cell that is intrinsic to our body, there are about 10 resident microbes."

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Comments

Hacking? Really?

Tim Ye - 8 years, 1 month ago

link to the article please ?

Ritvik Choudhary - 8 years ago

Click the orange arrow for the link.

Lokesh Sharma - 8 years ago

you can't hack biology - it isn't a site!

Jess J - 8 years ago

I believe there's a logical fallacy in your favorite excerpt (I know it's the author's mistake, not yours); if we are 10% human, then what is 100% human? Can 100% humans exist without bacterium cells? The conclusion should have been that we are a compilation of 90% bacteria cells, 10% distinct human cells.

A Former Brilliant Member - 7 years, 4 months ago

link please

Sam Alexander - 8 years ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$