You are not alone. Even if you’re currently reading this in complete isolation, you are still far from a singular individual. You’re more of a colony – one human, together with microbes in their trillions. For every one of your own genes, your body is also host to thousands of bacterial ones. Some of the most important of these tenants – the microbiota – live in our gut. Their genes, collectively known as our microbiome, provide us with the ability to break down sources of food, like complex carbohydrates, that we would otherwise find completely indigestible.

Turnbaugh likens the situation within our guts to that of islands. Real islands may be home to very different species of animals but all