In the 2012 article, “Microbe census maps out human body’s bacteria, viruses, other bugs,�the results of the five-year study by the Human Microbiome Project are discussed. While it has long been known that untold microbiotic forms of life, such as yeasts and bacteria, live in and on the human body, this is the most comprehensive study to date. The article emphasizes that it is now known how these forms of life often exist in communities and have complex systems all their own, and there is a clearer understanding of precise functions.

From this, the article goes on to reinforce that the key focus of the study was in identifying how microbes exist in healthy individuals. This will then allow knowledge of exactly how, certainly with some disease, illness is generated when the microbiome processes go wrong. It relates how the average human hosts over a 100 trillion microscopic life forms, how most are bacteria, and that different body parts host different assortments of these. It is also remarked that science has long been fascinated by these realities, but study has been difficult because lab conditions are alien to microbiomes.

This in turn leads to a discussion of how the study was conducted. 14 men and seventeen women, all in excellent health, were repeatedly swabbed to obtain the life forms, and technology then allowed for examination of the DNA of these microscopic creatures. This DNA analysis revealed, through matching gene sequences, which forms of bacteria are most abundant in the body, as well as where certain forms exist exclusively, as in the vagina. Ultimately, it was discovered that: 摘ach place in the body seems to have a distinct set of metabolic abilities, be it digestion of sugars in the mouth or of complex carbohydrates in the large intestine. Essentially, it is reported that we have a far deeper understanding of how microbiomes exist and function within us.

I selected this article because the subject fascinates me. It is increasingly noted that human existence is as dependent on microscopic life as it is on the larger forces of nature; with bacteria, in plain terms, there are no higher forms of life. I also was interested to see that the scientific community is more interested in this subject than ever before, and because, as the article relates, the study of the microbiomes pertains to virtually every aspect of human biology, from respiratory functions to the reproductive.
In my view, there can be no limit to this particular pursuit, given the intense connection between the human and the microscopic forms of life.

My view also goes to the immense importance of the subject. Given the variety and numbers of microbiomes living within us, it is impossible to estimate how much knowledge may be gained. For example, as scientists seek to know how healthy colonies of bacteria function, they may be enabled to learn how to literally employ microbiomes to fight disease, by transferring certain kinds to diseased areas of the body. Then, we may as well learn crucial information regarding viruses, and how they originate, mutate and proliferate. Exploring the microscopic and biological within the human body offers truly endless potentials.

In terms of what I personally learned, the most striking fact was that medical science is capable of analyzing genes in bacteria. I also did not know that we host more microbiomes than we have human cells, and that there are over 10,000 distinct types of bacteria. I learned that many types exist only in specific body parts, and that a single form of bacteria may reside in certain parts, as in the vagina. Then, the article also informed me that these types are usually found in the same body areas in all people, and that virtually all human metabolic function is linked to bacterial functioning.