Imagine yourself in one of those science videos that zoom out so far that the earth’s sun is the size of a pistachio nut compared to some of the other entities that exist. Now, imagine zooming in... all the way in back to earth, zoom right in until you can imagine yourself sitting in a room on your own. No one around you. All alone, or so you think. At this very moment there is a whole microbiome sharing your body space. Still Feeling alone? This community of microorganisms is known to be an active part of our everyday lives (Cryan & Dinan, 2012). However, I’m not sure if it ever occurred to most people that this community of microorganisms could communicate to the central nervous system and have an influence on both behaviour and physiology! If that doesn’t get you thinking, in not sure what will.

So, watch this space in the coming weeks and hear all about the wild and wonderful world that resides within you!

Cryan, J.F. & Dinan T.G. 2012, “Mind-altering microorganisms: the impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour”, Nature reviews. Neuroscience, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 701 - 712