--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we need is a full field guide to the…" description: "\"What we need is a full field guide to the microbes that live in and on people, so that we can understand what they're doing to our lives. We are them; ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/jonathan-eisen-96439_bacteria_what-we-need-is-a-full-field-guide-to-th_2471866.jpg" --- # What we need is a full field guide to the microbes that… ![“What we need is a full field guide to the microbes that live in and on people, so that we can understand what they're doing to our lives. We are them; they are us.” quote by Jonathan Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/jonathan-eisen-96439_bacteria_what-we-need-is-a-full-field-guide-to-th_2471866.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/jonathan-eisen-96439_bacteria_what-we-need-is-a-full-field-guide-to-th_2471866.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/jonathan-eisen-96439_bacteria_what-we-need-is-a-full-field-guide-to-th_2471866.jpg) > “What we need is a full field guide to the microbes that live in and on people, so that we can understand what they're doing to our lives. We are them; they are us.” [Jonathan Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-eisen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding microbes that inhabit humans is essential, as they influence health and behavior; we are both host and ecosystem. **In simple terms:** Microbes shape our health. Key Takeaway Study human microbiome for wellbeing. Themes biology health microbes interdependence Mood scientific curious Type Bacteria:1 Doing:1 Field:1 Full:1 Guide:1 Live:1 Lives:1 Microbes:1 Need:1 Our:1 Our lives:1 People:1 Them:1 Understand:1 Us:1 Understand Doing:1 Guide Microbes:1 Microbes Live:1 Field Guide:1 When to use this quote - medical research - personal health - environmental policy Key Concepts ecology genomics public health Questions to Reflect On - How does your lifestyle affect your microbiome? - What policies could protect microbial ecosystems? A Different Perspective Microbial study is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/field/) [Field Guide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/field-guide-770155/) [Full](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full/) [Guide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guide/) [Guide Microbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guide-microbes-770153/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Microbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbes/) [Microbes Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbes-live-770154/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Understand Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-doing-484788/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [We actually have 10 times as many cells of microbes on us as we have human cells... We are literally a teeming ecosystem of microorganisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-eisen/we-actually-have-10-times-as-many-cells-of-microbes-on-us-as-we-have/) [Jonathan Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-eisen/) > [For generations, field guides to plants and animals have sharpened the pleasure of seeing by opening our minds to understanding. Now John Adam has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-von-baeyer/for-generations-field-guides-to-plants-and-animals-have-sharpened-the/) [Hans Christian von Baeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-von-baeyer/) > [I found Esau’s field guide at the bottom of my pack. Taking a candle into the bedroom, I read his book until my eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/i-found-esau-s-field-guide-at-the-bottom-of-my-pack-taking-a-candle/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [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/) > [“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reservoir-of-potential-microbial/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [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 Jonathan Eisen > [We actually have 10 times as many cells of microbes on us as we have human cells... We are literally a teeming ecosystem of microorganisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-eisen/we-actually-have-10-times-as-many-cells-of-microbes-on-us-as-we-have/) [Jonathan Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-eisen/) [Explore all 2 Jonathan Eisen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-eisen/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "What we need is a full field guide to the microbes that live in and on people, so that we can understand what they're doing to our lives. 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