Since we are covered (inside and out) with microscopic life which in many cases help us to live, such as in our gut, is it still possible for a human being to survive without a microbiome? It wouldn’t be possible to create a human lacking one in the presence of life on Earth obviously, but if a space craft was perfectly decontaminated and contained a human zygote with everything necessary to bring it to term in an artificial womb and then be ‘born’ (plus robotic care etc etc), could that human survive in a biological sense? Would it just require a specific diet to get around the lack of digestive assistance?
In: Biology
Not really. Your gut biome is a big part of how you digest many foods, and the good bacteria in your gut and on your skin play a huge role in protecting you from worse bacteria and fungi. We have a symbiotic relationship with them that is mutually beneficial/necessary. Some people receive fecal bacteria transplants if theirs is wiped out by radiation therapy for example, to help rebuild their immune systems.
There’s a lot of research now that our gut biome does more than digest food – it may play a huge role in our brain chemistry as well, with some studies that show an off kilter biome may cause imbalances relating to depression and anxiety among other things. I’m not a biologist or other expert, so someone else could probably give more precise explanation.
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