Comments on: You are half bacterial http://www.starchamber.com/2004/11/you-are-half-bacterial.html Ned Gulley's Blog. Resident buzzwords: synthetic biology, ambient displays, swarm robotics, wise crowds. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:36:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Ned http://www.starchamber.com/2004/11/you-are-half-bacterial.html#comment-595 Ned Fri, 19 Nov 2004 04:06:35 +0000 http://starchamber.com/?p=953#comment-595 I was intentionally vague about whether I meant half by volume, mass, or cell count, thereby letting me write a catchy, if completely false, headline. But I can say with some confidence that the contents of your lower colon is one third bacteria by mass and contains a greater cell count in bacteria than your entire body. This constitutes, without exaggeration or abuse of poetic license, a shitload. I was intentionally vague about whether I meant half by volume, mass, or cell count, thereby letting me write a catchy, if completely false, headline. But I can say with some confidence that the contents of your lower colon is one third bacteria by mass and contains a greater cell count in bacteria than your entire body. This constitutes, without exaggeration or abuse of poetic license, a shitload.

]]> By: JMike http://www.starchamber.com/2004/11/you-are-half-bacterial.html#comment-594 JMike Thu, 18 Nov 2004 20:35:27 +0000 http://starchamber.com/?p=953#comment-594 I'm not sure I quite get the math here. If I've got several trillion cells and 100 trillion bacteria along for the ride, I'm a darn sight more than half bacterial. I think it's all moot right now because the viruses (should I say 'virii' or would that be pretentious?) are ganging up and probably outnumber everything else in my body by an order of magnitude or two. *achoo* --JMike I’m not sure I quite get the math here. If I’ve got several trillion cells and 100 trillion bacteria along for the ride, I’m a darn sight more than half bacterial.

I think it’s all moot right now because the viruses (should I say ‘virii’ or would that be pretentious?) are ganging up and probably outnumber everything else in my body by an order of magnitude or two.

*achoo*

–JMike

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