How Microbiomes Frame Humanity's Role on Earth
The advancement of microbiome research, and especially discoveries surrounding the human microbiome, have sparked public interest in the positive effects of microbes on one's health. This curiosity comes with a wealth of opportunity. Humanity is facing serious ecological, societal and geopolitical challenges. Many facets of this poly-crisis are consequences of the substantial human impact on the planet, which is mainly driven by human-centric thinking. Embracing the perspective that humans are deeply interconnected with all other forms of life, and that our actions and well-being are intimately linked to the environment, offers a chance for new approaches to managing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Microbiomes provide a valuable lens through which to illustrate and encourage this holistic worldview.
Leveraging The More-Than-Human Concept
The "" concept describes the experience of existing in a world made up of multiple intertwined intelligences. David Abram, cultural ecologist and eco-philosopher, used the term for the first time in his 1996 book , and then it was gradually adopted by other scholars, disciplines and the ecological movement.
The microbiome, a community of microorganisms living together in a given environment, can serve as a model to demonstrate the more-than-human concept and communicate about the intricate network and mechanisms that connect life forms. Microbiomes are easily visualized and omnipresent in the environment. They also populate communication channels, as the topic has attracted the media and reached public awareness, making them an ideal instrument for insight and change. This awareness, combined with the curiosity to understand how humans are connected and influenced by non-human entities, offers an opportunity to question anthropocentric perspectives.
Microbiomes Illustrate the Interconnectedness of Life
Public curiosity surrounding the microbiome largely focuses on self-improvement. of more than 800 microbiome-related articles from popular North American media sources revealed that the majority focused on health benefits associated with the microbiome, as well as lifestyle choices that could be made to gain benefits from the microbiome (e.g., nutrition, probiotics and others).
Related showed that audiences are interested in how both physical and psychological symptoms are affected by the microbiome, pointing to a desire to understand the impact of microbes on mental or emotional processes. However, learning how shifts in the gut microbial population impact individual wellbeing can also foster awareness about the sensitivity and interdependence of ecological systems. For instance, if our microbiome is influenced by food, and the food is influenced by how it is grown and processed (e.g., soil, pesticide use), then interest in one's health could extend beyond the body to encompass care for the environment and other lifeforms.
Thus, while initially rooted in the anthropocentric desire to improve human well-being, public interest in the microbiome may also facilitate recognition that the body is not a closed-off vessel, but rather a habitat shared with trillions of microbes. This understanding, in turn, can expand people's perception of health and the environment, and how they fit into the bigger picture. Concepts that determine natural processes like interconnectedness, communication, population dynamics, energy flow or nutrient cycles can be illustrated using the microbiome as an example and then transferred to the overall picture of nature.
The Art of Fresh Narrative
This opportunity to use biology as a communication tool is recognized by disciplines like the humanities and the arts, which develop narrative formats to inform and engage audiences in a discourse on our relationship to the human and nonhuman world. For instance, in his immersive site-installation "," the artist opened and flooded part of the museum in Riehen, Switzerland, creating an artificially colored green pond filled with a variety of plants. Visitors could walk through the landscape along wooden walkways while listening to sounds of the water, insects or people and taking in the different smells. "I hope that Life encourages visitors to experience themselves within an expanded—open, uncertain—landscape, as composite beings, caught up in larger, unruly ecologies," .
Similarly, new narrative formats emerging at the interface between disciplines that do not traditionally cooperate (e.g., science and art) can promote scientific insights and innovative thinking to change anthropocentric perceptions of the world.
, a physician-educator, is one of the voices advocating ideas that advance personal and planetary health. In her work, she blends scientific results with storytelling to convey the interdependence of ecologies. "Once you truly understand this exchange and appreciate the subtleties, it is hard to stay apathetic about both personal and planetary health," she said during her presentation "" at the . In her presentation, Pal builds on endosymbiotic theory and the role of mitochondria in biological systems to engage her audiences at the intellectual and emotional level. Her work is a call to action that attracts people through its unique combination of fact and admiration for nature. To Pal, "health is an emergent property of the systems we live in, and our systems are currently set up for us to fail."
Anab Jain and Jon Ardern approach the more-than-human concept from the design/science interface. They are co-founders of the London-based studio and have developed a that criticizes human exceptionalism as an outdated framework that needs to change. Their manifesto celebrates "the awe of small things" and the power to "forge new relationships with the species we share our planet with." One of their projects explored for interacting, interdependent species. The installation—a fruiting chamber for growing fungi—was both a sensual experience that sparked admiration for emerging, colorful fungal forms, as well as a reflection on the human/non-human relationship.
Notably, the microbiome offers an intriguing and emerging lens through which to further explore this relationship—and some creators have taken note.
For example, , an acclaimed conceptual artist from South Korea based in New York, uses microbes in her transdisciplinary art works. Her installation "" was part of the Microspore exhibition at in Milan. The installation reframed the function of the Winogradsky column—a model ecosystem for studying microbial communities, usually consisting of a tube filled with soil and different nutrients—in a new, artistic context.
The installation was composed of rectangular metal and glass structures hanging from the ceiling at different heights. While at a distance the structures looked like abstract paintings, they were in fact Winogradsky cultures. The focus on the beauty of the Winogradsky display captured the audience's attention through the sensory experience. Visitors could then dive deeper into the information about the underlying ecological mechanisms and follow read-outs of the sensors attached to the columns. The artistic presentation led the viewers to the exploration of interconnectedness and co-existence of different organisms, and the science behind it. This is just 1 example of how microbial communities can be used to capitalize on people's curiosity and expand their perceptions of the world.
The Way Forward
In his article "," the philosopher argues that "the finding that microorganisms are a constitutive part of ourselves calls for a new configuration of the effort to understand what it means to be human." In contrast to the view that humans are separated from nature, microbiome research implies that humans are influenced by microorganisms, because the 2 systems are physiologically intertwined. We contain and are part of a vast and complex ecosystem.
Against the backdrop of the current poly-crisis, the need to reconsider humanity's place and role in the world is growing. The microbiome offers an opportunity to do just that. Microbiologists can play an active role by providing scientific background while actively engaging in transdisciplinary discourse, using the momentum of growing public interest in the microbiome to promote awareness and understanding of important issues through diverse channels (e.g., art). The more-than-human approach reflects the necessity to question the anthropocentric worldview, and the current fascination with microbiome could help transcend the boundaries between nature and culture.
ASM's annual Agar Art Contest exemplifies the unification of art and microbiology to convey ideas.
In This Issue
- Microbial Biofertilizers to Bolster Food Security
- How Studying Bat Viruses Can Help Prevent Zoonotic Disease
- Agnostic Diagnostics and the Future of 黑料正能量Health With Dev Mittar
- Leveraging Cannabinoids as Antimicrobials
- Fecal Microbiota Transplants: Past, Present and Future
- ASM's Young Ambassadors Use Science to Empower Communities
- How Do Microbes Remove Radioactive Waste?
- How Microbiomes Frame Humanity's Role on Earth