--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The passengers in our microbiome contain…" description: "\"The passengers in our microbiome contain at least four million genes, and they work constantly on our behalf: they manufacture vitamins and patrol our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png" --- # The passengers in our microbiome contain at least four… ![“The passengers in our microbiome contain at least four million genes, and they work constantly on our behalf: they manufacture vitamins and patrol our guts to prevent infections; they help to form and bolster our immune systems, and digest food.” quote by Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png) > “The passengers in our microbiome contain at least four million genes, and they work constantly on our behalf: they manufacture vitamins and patrol our guts to prevent infections; they help to form and bolster our immune systems, and digest food.” [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our gut microbes act like a hidden organ, producing nutrients, defending against pathogens, supporting immunity, and aiding digestion. **In simple terms:** Gut bacteria help keep us healthy. Key Takeaway Support gut health with diet and lifestyle. Themes health biology microbiome Mood informative scientific Type educational explanatory When to use this quote - diet planning - medical research - personal health - public health policy - education Key Concepts symbiosis immune function nutrition Questions to Reflect On - What foods nurture beneficial gut bacteria? - How does stress affect microbiome health? 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That was my personal weapon with being the first person in the patrol. I used to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/well-mines-was-a-sub-machine-gun-that-was-my-personal-weapon-with/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [“Bluestar's coming on patrol? Watch out for flying hedgehogs!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter-cloudpaw-a-dangerous-path-warriors-5/bluestar-s-coming-on-patrol-watch-out-for-flying-hedgehogs/) Erin Hunter Cloudpaw A Dangerous Path Warriors 5 > [As someone who has had family members on patrol and in the line of fire, I care deeply about public safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ketanji-brown-jackson/as-someone-who-has-had-family-members-on-patrol-and-in-the-line-of/) [Ketanji Brown Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ketanji-brown-jackson/) > [In Los Angeles you get the sense sometimes that there's a mysterious patrol at night: when the streets are empty and everyone's asleep, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/in-los-angeles-you-get-the-sense-sometimes-that-there-s-a-mysterious/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) ## More by Michael Specter > [There are always potential side effects for every vaccine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-always-potential-side-effects-for-every-vaccine/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Until the Nineteen-Eighties, when Deng Xiaoping designated the area as China's first special economic zone, Shenzhen had been a tiny fishing village. Suddenly, eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/until-the-nineteen-eighties-when-deng-xiaoping-designated-the-area-as/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [There are people who could watch a hurricane like Sandy blow out of the Atlantic every other day and blame it on anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-people-who-could-watch-a-hurricane-like-sandy-blow-out-of/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [We're lying ourselves into believing things are untrue, like organic food will solve all our problems, or vitamins will make us healthy, or we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/we-re-lying-ourselves-into-believing-things-are-untrue-like-organic/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [I started to write about science and medicine at the 'Washington Post,' in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/i-started-to-write-about-science-and-medicine-at-the-washington-post/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Clearly, some of the reason people embrace alternatives and reject vaccines is that they are angry and mistrustful of government and of pharmaceutical conglomerates.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/clearly-some-of-the-reason-people-embrace-alternatives-and-reject/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [The numbers matter: underreporting of Lyme disease obscures the true burden of the illnesses, on individuals as well as on health-care systems. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-numbers-matter-underreporting-of-lyme-disease-obscures-the-true/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [There is a major problem with reliance on placebos, like most vitamins and antioxidants. Everyone gets upset about Big Science, Big Pharma, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-is-a-major-problem-with-reliance-on-placebos-like-most-vitamins/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Denialist arguments are often bolstered by accurate information taken wildly out of context, wielded selectively, and supported by fake experts who often don't seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/denialist-arguments-are-often-bolstered-by-accurate-information-taken/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Your dollar cheeseburger isn't a dollar if you factor in what it's going to cost in health care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/your-dollar-cheeseburger-isn-t-a-dollar-if-you-factor-in-what-it-s/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [To suggest that organic vegetables, which cost far more than conventional produce, can feed billions of people in parts of the world without roads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/to-suggest-that-organic-vegetables-which-cost-far-more-than/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [The history of agriculture is the history of humans breeding seeds and animals to produce traits we want in our crops and livestock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-history-of-agriculture-is-the-history-of-humans-breeding-seeds/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [With a hundred and seventy-eight machines to sequence the precise order of the billions of chemicals within a molecule of DNA, B.G.I. produces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/with-a-hundred-and-seventy-eight-machines-to-sequence-the-precise/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Be sceptical, ask questions, demand proof. Demand evidence. Don't take anything for granted. But here's the thing: When you get proof, you need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/be-sceptical-ask-questions-demand-proof-demand-evidence-don-t-take/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Nobody celebrates when they avoid an illness they never expected to get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/nobody-celebrates-when-they-avoid-an-illness-they-never-expected-to/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) [Explore all 79 Michael Specter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) ## 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 passengers in our microbiome contain at least four million genes, and they work constantly on our behalf: they manufacture vitamins and patrol our guts to prevent infections; they help to form and bolster our immune systems, and digest food.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Specter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain-at-least-four-million-genes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bacteria" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain-at-least-four-million-genes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/michael-specter-8599_bacteria_the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain_2848705.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The passengers in our microbiome contain at least four million genes, and they work constantly on our…” — Michael Specter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Specter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The passengers in our microbiome contain...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain-at-least-four-million-genes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-passengers-in-our-microbiome-contain-at-least-four-million-genes/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```