No matter how much we scrub, our bodies are teeming with invisible life. Scientists at the University of California San Diego are revealing new insights into this hidden world, prompting us to reconsider what makes us sick or well.
Fewer than half the cells inside us are actually human; the rest belong to trillions of microbes that shape our health, mood, and even how we respond to medicine. This vast community, known as the microbiome, is transforming how researchers understand everything from allergies to Parkinson’s. It is even challenging ideas about identity while opening doors to groundbreaking new treatments.
Click through the gallery to explore how this invisible world is revolutionizing medicine and redefining what it means to be human.