Humans have a deep and complex relationship with microbes. Beyond disease, microbes also profoundly shape human health and behavior through their activity in the microbiome and their diverse roles in food and cuisine. And yet we know very little about the origin, evolution, or ecology of the trillions of microorganisms that call us home. Christina Warinner of Harvard University discusses recent advances in genomic and proteomic technologies that are opening up dramatic new opportunities to investigate the complex and diverse microbial communities that have long inhabited our human bodies and our food systems - both in sickness and in health. From infectious disease to the microbiome, microbes are the invisible and often overlooked figures that have profoundly shaped human culture and influenced the course of human history. Warinner focuses on the long arc of human-microbial relationships preserved by ancient DNA over the past 100,000 years, and explores how emerging research on pathogen evolution and the recent loss of commensal microbes is changing how we understand human health – both today and in the past. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41196]

In this program, Dr. Sean Spencer explores the healthy way in which carbohydrates are digested throughout the body. To understand this concept Dr. Spencer discusses the difference between digesting simple sugars and complex carbohydrates.   Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40774]

Dr. Sean Spencer talks about the vast microbial world that lives within our guts — known as the gut microbiome — and how it supports our health. Dr. Spencer emphasizes the importance of a high-fiber diet in creating a healthy gut microbiome which increases overall health. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40761]

Michael J. Corley, Ph.D., explores groundbreaking research on aging, the role of ancient viruses in our DNA, and the impact of the gut microbiome on longevity. Corley discusses how stress, diet, and exercise influence our genetic health, highlighting the complex interplay between environmental factors and our biological systems. The conversation also touches on individualized treatment strategies and the exciting potential of microbiome science in aging research. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40266]

A healthy microbiome can prevent disease and obesity. Dr. Sean Spencer discusses how a diet rich in fiber supports our health in various ways. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40458]

In this program, Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, Director of the Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology at Washington University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's 2024 recipient of the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest, discusses his research into the microbiome. Gordon is credited with founding the field of gut microbiome research. His transformative studies have demonstrated that human health and disease are shaped by the communities of microbes that live in the human gut. His body of work has opened up the vast new therapeutic potential for the microbiome, exemplified by his identification of ways to repair the gut microbiomes of children with malnutrition and restore their healthy growth. Series: "Science in the Public Interest" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40154]

How can a healthy microbiome prevent disease? In this program, Dr. Sean Spencer talks about the vast microbial world that lives within our guts — known as the gut microbiome — and how it supports our health. He discusses the current evidence about how to nourish your microbiome to prevent and treat disease.    Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40074]

Human activities can increase levels of harmful microorganisms and pollutants in our water systems that have the potential to make us sick or threaten our food supply. Join microbial ecologist Dr. Sarah Allard as she presents emerging research from Scripps Oceanography that sheds light on seafood-related food borne illnesses. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40082]

Water on Earth sustains and connects us, but human activities can increase levels of harmful microorganisms and pollutants in our water systems that have the potential to make us sick or threaten our food supply. Join microbial ecologist Dr. Sarah Allard as she presents emerging research from Scripps Oceanography that sheds light on how natural microbial systems respond to these harmful contaminants in systems as diverse as freshwater river ecosystems and marine invertebrate digestive tract microbiomes. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 39249]

Our bodies are dynamic ecosystems housing trillions of microbes that, while invisible to the naked eye, play a critical role in shaping human health. Scientists are beginning to understand the superpowers the microbiome holds.In this program, Dr. Tiffany Scharschmidt discusses skin physiology, what factors shape the skin microbiome and skin health, and the role of the microbiome in skin disease. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38133]

Our bodies are dynamic ecosystems housing trillions of microbes that, while invisible to the naked eye, play a critical role in shaping human health. Scientists are beginning to understand the superpowers the microbiome holds.In this program, Dr. Ryan Rampersaud discusses mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder and how the microbiome impacts psychiatric diseases. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38134]

Our bodies are dynamic ecosystems housing trillions of microbes that, while invisible to the naked eye, play a critical role in shaping human health. Scientists are beginning to understand the superpowers the microbiome holds.This program looks at how the microbiome helps balance immune responses and its influence on neurological disease. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38132]

Through the Earth Microbiome Program and complementary efforts, we have sampled a broad range of microbiomes from across the planet. All microbiomes that have been studied are impacted by human activity — the effects of industrialization on the human microbiome are best characterized, but capture of animals in zoos, domestication, modification of soils through agricultural practices, and modification of freshwater and marine microbiomes have also all been well characterized. Indeed, the pervasive role of environmental microbiomes in biogeochemical cycles necessary to sustain life led to a position paper entitled "Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change”, the title of which speaks for itself. However, there is hope. Efforts such as the Microbiota Vault will be especially important in this respect, but also new monitoring and modeling approaches will help us understand where to look globally for the best specimens and microbes to preserve. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37909]

Our bodies are dynamic ecosystems housing trillions of microbes that, while invisible to the naked eye, play a critical role in shaping human health. Scientists are beginning to understand the superpowers the microbiome holds. In this program, Peter Turnbaugh, Ph.D., discusses how our gut microbes are the result of the food we eat, which in turn impacts our health. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38131]

Our bodies are dynamic ecosystems housing trillions of microbes that, while invisible to the naked eye, play a critical role in shaping human health. Scientists are just beginning to understand the superpowers the microbiome holds. In this program Marina Sirota, Ph.D., explains how to use artificial intelligence to study the microbiome and better understand health and disease across the lifespan. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38130]

Our bodies are dynamic ecosystems housing trillions of microbes that, while invisible to the naked eye, play a critical role in shaping human health. Scientists are beginning to understand the superpowers the microbiome holds. In this program, Susan Lynch, Ph.D., director of the Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine, explains research into the microbiome and how infant microbiomes influence childhood health. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38129]