An article published in the journal “ACS Nano” describes the tools that scientists need to put into practice the proposal for the formation of the Unified Microbiome Initiative (UMI). An interdisciplinary team of scientists launched this proposal in October to explore the world of microorganisms, which is still in many ways mysterious. The existing tools are not enough so we need to invent other ones to face a new challenge.
Microorganisms have been found on Earth in all environments, including the most extreme ones. The proposal for the creation of UMI derives from the recognition of the importance of the microbiome, which consists of these microbes and their interactions for the Earth’s life and thus for humans.
Microorganisms are also present inside the human body but even in this case our knowledge is still limited. For several decades it’s been estimated that there are ten microorganisms for every human cell but according to a research described in a paper just published in the journal “Nature” that’s a myth. Various doubts were expressed on this point and according to this new research an average man has about 30 trillion cells and contains about 39 trillion bacteria.
In short, there’s still much to discover on the microbiome and not only in connection with humans and that’s what the UMI is about. This proposal involves scientists at the interdisciplinary level because the study of the microbiome doesn’t concern just biologists. Microbes interact chemically with other organisms, including humans, and with their environment, therefore their study involves chemists, geologists, physicists and medical doctors.
The new possibilities offered by modern technologies are leading to significant progress in the study of all living organisms, including microbes. The techniques of genetic analysis are rapidly becoming more perfectioned and quicker therefore today represent one of the most explored frontiers.
Analyzes of that kind are carried out with the assistance of computers and, thanks to the rapid advances in technology, scientists believe that many new tools can use computers. In recent years, a new discipline was developed to find solutions of biological problems using computers called bioinformatics.
We’re talking about various types of analyzes carried out with computers. Genetic analyzes go increasingly in depth but other types of molecular analyzes were developed as well. In the bioinformatics field, today there are already also biological and other simulation software used for various types of predictions about biological systems.
Further advances in bioinformatics are needed to adequately address the study of the microbiome. It’s not just about improving the existing software but also to apply new technologies. For example, the application of Watson, IBM cognitive computing system, was proposed in this field too.
Nanotechnology is another area where progress could greatly help the study of the microbiome. In this case we’re still really at the beginning but the chance to work at the same size level of microbes may allow to conduct a research with nanomachines put among them, in their own environment.
Such efforts will take years and a lot of resources. However, too often we forget the influence that microbes have on the rest of the world. Our health is only the most obvious example but all ecosystems are affected in one way or another by microbes that live there. Basically, all the initiatives to improve our knowledge of the microbiome are important.
