Science has struck another blow to my self-concept. I must be a bit of a masochist, cause I like it.
Reading Human Microbiome Project: Diversity of Human Microbes Greater Than Previously Predicted, I encountered this:
The human microbiome consists of all the microorganisms that reside in or on the human body. Outnumbering cells in the human body by 10 to 1….
Um, so does that mean that what I considered “me” is only 10% of the biological stuff I walk around as? If my body were teased apart into elemental units, only 10% would be the building blocks of Andrew, the other 90% free-riders?
Well, not quite. First there is this addition info:
…some of the microorganisms cause illnesses, but many are necessary for good health.
Switching metaphors here, so my body is not a train, it’s cars clung-to and filled with free-riding hobo microbes. Many of the passengers actually contribute to my health and well being. Are even essential.
The 10 to 1 ratio can be a bit misleading in this regard too: as with the train, ridden by 9 passengers for every one of its cars, if we were to form a ratio by weight, vs. by elemental units, the genetically-me-stuff would again dominate. Relative to bacteria, a human cell can be super-massive. A Gulliver to Lilliputians.
(Bad Andrew! Switching metaphors mid-stream again. Sit, stay.)
Still. Biological information such as above teaches us just how complex life is.
As a freethought endnote I invite creationists to ponder which “theory” better explains the 9 to 1 ratio: so-called Intelligent Design or evolution. Be honest now.
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Tags: biology, creationism
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