I, Superorganism: Learning to Love our Inner Ecosystem
Jon Turney
Icon Books, £12.99
The largest organ in the body is arguably not the skin or the liver, but the microbiota: the multitude of microorganisms that live on our skin and mucous membranes and inhabit our guts.
It has long been known that bacteria in the gut play a role in digestion and the provision of some nutrients, but there is increasing evidence of their involvement in the immune response and the development of allergies, cardiovascular disease and cancer. We tamper with it at our peril: we should indeed learn to love our inner ecosystems.
