--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world around us is a gigantic…" description: "\"“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/ed-yong-14636_food_the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reserv_896311.jpg" --- # The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential… ![“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable part of our meals, or that detoxify the poisons in a previously inedible food, or that kill a parasite that previously suppressed our…” quote by Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/ed-yong-14636_food_the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reserv_896311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/ed-yong-14636_food_the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reserv_896311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/ed-yong-14636_food_the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reserv_896311.jpg) > ““The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable part of our meals, or that detoxify the poisons in a previously inedible food, or that kill a parasite that previously suppressed our numbers. Each new partner might help its host to eat a little more, travel a little further, survive a little longer.”” [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Microbes are a vast, untapped resource that can enhance digestion, detoxify foods, and protect against parasites, boosting health and survival. **In simple terms:** Microbes can improve our bodies and lives. Key Takeaway Explore and harness beneficial microbes. Themes biology health innovation symbiosis evolution Mood curious optimistic cautious Type scientific inspirational speculative When to use this quote - nutrition - medicine - agriculture - public health - personalized diet Key Concepts microbiome mutualism adaptation co‑evolution Questions to Reflect On - How can we safely integrate new microbes into diets? - What ethical considerations arise from engineering microbiomes? A Different Perspective Microbial benefits depend on complex ecological balances and may have unintended effects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ## Related quotes > [“We have already seen how pliable the microbiome can be. It can change with a touch, with a meal, with a parasitic incursion or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/we-have-already-seen-how-pliable-the-microbiome-can-be-it-can-change/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Humans don't need to evolve a gene that can break down the carbohydrates in seaweed; if we swallow enough microbes that can digest these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/humans-don-t-need-to-evolve-a-gene-that-can-break-down-the/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“And in maintaining such constancy, microbes are crucial. They affect the storage of fat. They help to replenish the linings of the gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/and-in-maintaining-such-constancy-microbes-are-crucial-they-affect/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Most animals can't tap into these open-source adaptations deliberately. The flies didn't seek out Spiroplasma to solve their worm problem. Woodrats didn't go looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/most-animals-can-t-tap-into-these-open-source-adaptations/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [Microbes are doing things we didn't even know they could do 10 years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jackson/microbes-are-doing-things-we-didn-t-even-know-they-could-do-10-years/) [Robert Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jackson/) > [The vast majority of terrestrial species are in fact microbes, and scientists have only begun scratching the surface of the microbial realm. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/the-vast-majority-of-terrestrial-species-are-in-fact-microbes-and/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [Most life on Earth is microbes. we've only just scratched the surface of the microbial realm. Probably less than .1% of microbes have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/most-life-on-earth-is-microbes-we-ve-only-just-scratched-the-surface/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“Even the majority of the cells in your body are microorganisms. They outnumber the cells of your body by 10 to 1. Those microbes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/even-the-majority-of-the-cells-in-your-body-are-microorganisms-they/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [If you don't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/if-you-don-t-like-bacteria-you-re-on-the-wrong-planet/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [It is sometimes as dangerous to be run into by a microbe as by a trolley car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-walsh/it-is-sometimes-as-dangerous-to-be-run-into-by-a-microbe-as-by-a/) [James Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-walsh/) > [“If you on't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/if-you-on-t-like-bacteria-you-re-on-the-wrong-planet/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [I play with microbes. There are, of course, many rules to this play...but when you have acquired knowledge and experience it is very pleasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/i-play-with-microbes-there-are-of-course-many-rules-to-this-play-but/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [“If certain bacteria, fungi, or algae inch across something made of copper, they absorb copper atoms, which disrupt their metabolism (human cells are unaffected).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/if-certain-bacteria-fungi-or-algae-inch-across-something-made-of/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) ## More by Ed Yong > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“No, the algae were making something that killed the corals via their own microbes. That something turned out to be dissolved organic carbon (DOC);…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/no-the-algae-were-making-something-that-killed-the-corals-via-their/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Patterson died in 2014 but Mazmanian is now carrying on his friend's work. His long-term goal is to develop a bacterium that people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/patterson-died-in-2014-but-mazmanian-is-now-carrying-on-his-friend-s/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Mucus is made from giant molecules called mucins, each consisting of a central protein backbone with thousands of sugar molecules branching off it. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/mucus-is-made-from-giant-molecules-called-mucins-each-consisting-of-a/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The Earth is 4.54 billion years old. A span of time that big is too mind-boggling to comprehend, so let’s collapse the planet’s entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-earth-is-4-54-billion-years-old-a-span-of-time-that-big-is-too/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Many of the plants that the spider mite targets can release hydrogen cyanide when their tissues are breached. This substance is extraordinarily inimical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/many-of-the-plants-that-the-spider-mite-targets-can-release-hydrogen/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“When microbiologists first started cataloguing the human microbiome in its entirety they hoped to discover a "core" microbiome: a group of species that everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/when-microbiologists-first-started-cataloguing-the-human-microbiome/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Most animals can't tap into these open-source adaptations deliberately. The flies didn't seek out Spiroplasma to solve their worm problem. Woodrats didn't go looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/most-animals-can-t-tap-into-these-open-source-adaptations/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Howler monkeys all defecate at the same time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/howler-monkeys-all-defecate-at-the-same-time/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The variations that exist between the body parts dwarf those that exist between people. Put simply, the bacteria on your forearm are more similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-variations-that-exist-between-the-body-parts-dwarf-those-that/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“It earns its keep. As it digests HMOs, B. infantis releases short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that feed an infant's gut cells - so while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/it-earns-its-keep-as-it-digests-hmos-b-infantis-releases-short-chain/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“When Hamiltonella's genome was sequenced, the real reason behind the bacterium's protective powers became apparent: about half of its DNA actually belonged to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/when-hamiltonella-s-genome-was-sequenced-the-real-reason-behind-the/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“For one group of wasps, the braconids, transferred genes have enabled a bizarre form of pest control. The females of these wasps lay their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/for-one-group-of-wasps-the-braconids-transferred-genes-have-enabled-a/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Our darkest fiction is full of Orwellian dystopias, shadowy cabals, and mind-controlling supervillains. But it turns out that the brainless, microscopic, single-celled organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/our-darkest-fiction-is-full-of-orwellian-dystopias-shadowy-cabals-and/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The team also worked out how the microbes were affecting the brain. Their main suspect was the vagus nerve. It's a long branching nerve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-team-also-worked-out-how-the-microbes-were-affecting-the-brain/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) [Explore all 46 Ed Yong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) Richard E. Leakey > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable part of our meals, or that detoxify the poisons in a previously inedible food, or that kill a parasite that previously suppressed our numbers. 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