Feeding the 99%: Nutrition, Sanitation and the Crowded Intestine

Microbes are everywhere. We are each host to roughly 40 trillion bacteria that reside within our bodies and contribute to our health and well-being. In the gut, intestinal bacteria are key to human digestion and nutrition, and disturbing these bacterial communities – for example, by exposure to unsanitary environments – can have major consequences. This talk will explore intestinal bacterial communities, or “microbiota,” and their involvement in the global crisis of child malnutrition.