NOVA Wonders: What’s Living In You? 1x53

From what makes us fat, to what makes us fart, to what makes us freak out, there is a whole new paradigm for understanding how the human body works. Research reveals we’re more like an ecosystem with tons of microbes living in us, on us and even having sex literally right under our noses. Our human cells are outnumbered by non-human bacteria, viruses and fungi, making our bodies a host and resource for multitudes of other organisms. But not all bugs are detrimental or just nasty hitchhikers. Some are actually crucial to our survival and important players in our health. Evidence suggests that a damaged microbiome may contribute to obesity, allergies and even mental disorders—but scientists are just scratching the surface of this biological frontier, opening up a new world of microbial forensics. NOVA Wonders visits the world’s largest stool bank, which transforms raw stool into life-saving poop pills. These miraculous “brown bullets” serve as fecal transplants for those struggling with bacterial infections. You’ll see the fascinating, bizarre and the just plain gross. From the mites living on our faces to the bacteria in our guts, we are not alone…in our [not so] human body.

See the other episodes in Season 1 here: “What Are Animals Saying?”; “Can We Build A Brain?”; “Are We Alone?”; “Can We Make Life?”; “What’s The Universe Made Of?”

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