Scientists: more than half of your cells — not human
More than half of the cells in the human body are not human cells, the researchers say.
All of the cells in the human body, only 43% is actually a human cell. The other is a microscopic colonizers.
Understanding this hidden area of our body, the human microbiota is rapidly changing our understanding of different diseases — from allergies to Parkinson’s disease.
Some doctors even question what it means to “be human”, and seeking answers, finding new ways of treatment.
“They are extremely important for your health, says Professor Ruth Ley, Director of the Department macrobiotically research at the max Planck Institute. — Your body is not only for you,” she adds.
No matter how carefully you washed, every nook and every fold in your body at any given time thrive microscopic creatures.
Among them — bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea (which usually by mistake klassificeret as bacteria). Most of these creatures lives in the dark and gloomy depths of our bowels, where there is no access to oxygen.
“You are more microbes than human,” — said in an interview with Bi-bi-si, a scientist from the University of California at San Diego.
Previously, researchers thought that for every human cell in the body there are ten microorganisms.
This assessment was revised, now it’s more like one-to-one, so now we believe that, if converted cells, then each of us was 43%.Rob Netprotector
But from the point of view of genetics, we are in an even more vulnerable position.
The human genome — the complete set of genetic instructions that have each of us, consists of 20 thousands of “instructions” called genes.
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However, if you add up all the genes living in the us microorganisms, the final figure will be at 20 million.
“We have not one genome, the genes of our microbiota is essentially a second gene that complements the work of our own,” says Professor Sargis Margaryan from California technical University.
“I believe that makes us human beings the combination of our own DNA and the DNA of microbes in our intestine,” he said.
It would be naive to think that the number of microbes in our body does not interact with the body and not affect his work.