Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Humans Are Superorganisms

Posted by timothy on from the one-way-of-looking-at-things dept.

colonist writes "You are not completely human. You are a superorganism made up of human cells, fungi, bacteria and viruses. That's the view of scientists from Imperial College London and Astra Zeneca, published in Nature Biotechnology. Microbes in the gut can weigh up to one kilogram, forming the second largest metabolic 'organ'. Human cells and genes are outnumbered by microbial cells and genes. 'Understanding the man-microbe interaction is likely to be crucial in realising personalised medicine and healthcare in the future,' says the lead researcher."

4 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. It's called... by n54 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...symbiotic relationship (yes yes I know, you can all say "I've got a relationship" now)

    Nothing to see here folks, move along

    --
    this comment is provided "as is" and without any express or implied legibility or congruity [...]
  2. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Hang on... so we aren't human because we are human+extra, but human+extra is a superorganism called "human"? That doesn't add up.

    "Humans are superorganisms"
    human = superorganism
    superorganism = human + extra
    Therefore:
    human = human + extra

    So if humans are humans+extra, what do we call humans?

  3. Re:Well by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's why I never liked biology. Too much of it seems focused on definitions, rather than real substance. "Organism" is a word, nothing more. There is nothing fundamental about it.

  4. Not a bio guy or anything by kippy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    but don't a lot of other critters like dogs, whales, birds, skunks, sloths, etc, etc, etc, entail a system of bacteria and symbiotic lifeforms? Wouldn't this just mean that most complex life could be classified as superorganisms under this thinking?

    --
    Blaze a trail to the New World