Understanding Bacteria in Hospitals

Guest: Jack Gilbert, PhD, Professor of Surgery, University of Chicago, Director of the Microbiome Center, Group Leader in Microbial Ecology, Argonne National Laboratory There are at least as many bacteria living in and on your body as there are cells in your body. You’re a walking bacterial colony. And guess what? Those bacteria don’t stay put. They’ve colonized your desk, your bed, your car—basically anywhere you spend a decent amount of time bears the fingerprint of your microbiome. Most of the time, the bacteria are helpful or harmless, but sometimes they’re really bad news. Understanding how this works – how our bacteria affect and are affected by our environment – is the goal of a fascinating research project being done at the University of Chicago.