We are never alone with around 38 trillion bacteria co-habiting our body. These bacteria along with a whole host of other organisms make up our microbiome. Our microbiome has co-evolved with us and has many vital roles for our health. Bacteria also have an amazing ability to change and enable their host to do things they couldn’t normally do. However, changes in our microbiome are also linked to a whole host of diseases and conditions including obesity. The big question is whether we change our microbiome to exploit its beneficial functions. Find out how our microbiome is so important for our wellbeing, the extreme measures some people are taking to manipulate it and what you can do to eat yourself healthy. Professor Sheena Cruickshank is an immunologist in the University of Manchester. Our immune system is crucial to recognise infections but also has to cooperate with helpful microbes like the ones that live in our gut and her research focuses on the way the body’s immune system interacts with a host of microbes from bacteria to parasites.

She also regularly discusses infection and her research in the media (TV, radio and press). This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx