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Can microbes really be our friends? Jake Robinson’s book tells us they can. “Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us” explores the positive and even weird and wonderful ways that microbes affect our lives. Robinson decided to take a different approach and focus on these fascinating aspects of the microbial world rather than the negative effects of diseases caused by microbes, which so often get the spotlight.
This book explains how microbes can benefit and delight us but also shares how we must make sure to cherish, foster, and nourish these microbial friends. He describes a true friendship, where one takes care of the other, a friendship in which we need to actively participate so we can remain friends.
If you’ve ever thought, “ew, germs!” I highly recommend this book to open your mind to the positive aspects of the microbial world.
The book covers a diverse range of topics related to microbes and their influence on our health, social equity, behavior, thinking, and decision-making processes. It also delves into how microbes hold our ecosystems together, allow communication between plants, and can even be used in forensic microbiology.
Robinson draws on his PhD research and his interviews with various experts in the field. One of these experts is Professor John Cryan from the University of Cork in Ireland, who works on the microbiota gut-brain axis. This concept suggests that there is a two-way communication system between our gut and brain. The idea is that the microbes in our gut secrete different chemical compounds to communicate with the brain. And the brain can communicate with the microbes in our gut.
Robinson shares intriguing stories about how microbes may influence our feeding decisions, the environments we spend time in, and even our moods. He discusses studies where germ-free mice were inoculated with the microbiome from obese and non-obese human beings, leading to the mice putting on weight when inoculated with the obese human’s microbiome.
He also explores the link between microbes in our body and depression. Scientists have introduced the microbiome from depressed people and happy people into germ-free mice, and the mice themselves have shown significant differences in mood.
In another interview, Robinson spoke with Professor Graham Rook, an immune immunologist at University College London, leading to interesting discussions about the immune system and how it relates to microbes.
Robinson also discusses the potential for bio-integrated architecture, or bio-integrated design, in which biology is integrated into the design of buildings. The goal is to create materials that promote colonization by microbes and plants, resulting in more green and nature- and microbe-supportive urban environments.
Besides the incredible information you’ll learn in the book, Invisible Friends is written a whimsical style that whisks you away on this beautiful journey through the amazing microbial world.
Probably my favorite part was how he described how much it can support our health to purposely expose ourselves to microbes in nature rather than primarily being exposed to those we meet indoors. When I went outside again, it enriched the experience for me, thinking of the “invisible friends” I was breathing in. This book will change the way you think the next time you take a breath of fresh air while hiking through the woods. He paints the picture beautifully here:
“As I climb the limestone cliffs to pick some wild oregano for my pizza, I receive a suite of microbes from the rocks, the mosses, the knapweed and all the creatures that visited them before me. I fill my lungs with naturally diverse bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, algae and protozoa that float off the plants and the soil. It is possible that this exchange of invisible friends boosts my immune system; perhaps in the long term, the spore-forming butyrate producers help reduce inflammation and contribute to cell signaling deep inside the caverns of my body, and perhaps in this experience reconnects me with those mighty microbial ‘old friends’. Whatever happens in these moments, I know my personal ecosystem changes.”
Overall, Invisible Friends is a fascinating and thought-provoking book that challenges readers to think differently about microbes and their impact on our lives and the world around us.
Enhancing human health through exposure to microbes in nature
