# How much of me is human vs. microbe **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127 "2012-06-14T13:06:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/1 "2012-06-14T13:06:52Z")
From [All Things Considered](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/06/13/154913334/finally-a-map-of-all-the-microbes-on-your-body) on 13-June, “‘The human we see in the mirror is made up of more microbes than human,’ said Lita Proctor of the National Institutes of Health, who’s leading the Human Microbiome Project.” Read that quote again. I am not exactly sure what she is trying to say. I think what she is meaning to say is that there are more _microbe entities_ than _human cells._ Or is she implying that pound for pound, there is more microbe mass than human mass in and on me? Other sites validate the former. I have a hard time believing the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/2 "2012-06-14T13:12:08Z")
I read just this morning that the amount of microbes, if all gathered somehow, might actually add up to “a few pounds.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/3 "2012-06-14T13:36:34Z")
> [@](#): > > The human body contains trillions of microorganisms–out numbering human cells by 10 to one. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about one to three percent of the body’s mass but play a vital role in human health. > **[Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](https://news.yahoo.com/)** > > The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/4 "2012-06-14T13:57:13Z")
Ok. So I was right. The journalist probably just did what journalist do - completely bungle the meaning of any quote or concept even slightly scientific. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/5 "2012-06-14T14:03:08Z")
Not really. From the article, here is the paragraph that precedes the quote you posted: > [@](#): > > The human body contains about 100 trillion cells, but only maybe one in 10 of those cells is actually — human. The rest are from bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. In that context, “more microbes” means the number of cells, not the weight of the microbiome. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/6 "2012-06-14T14:10:42Z")
> [@](#): > > The human body contains trillions of microorganisms–out numbering human cells by 10 to one. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about one to three percent of the body’s mass but play a vital role in human health. So antibiotics wouldn’t make such great weight loss pills? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/7 "2012-06-14T14:18:28Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > So antibiotics wouldn’t make such great weight loss pills? If you killed all the microbes in your body, weight loss would be the least of your problems. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/8 "2012-06-14T14:20:26Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Not really. From the article, here is the paragraph that precedes the quote you posted:In that context, “more microbes” means the number of cells, not the weight of the microbiome. There’s an error if they are including viruses in the total of cells, since viruses are non-cellular. As has been said, our bodies contain many more bacterial cells than human cells. However, the bacterial cells make up only a small percentage of our weight. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/9 "2012-06-14T15:29:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There’s an error if they are including viruses in the total of cells, since viruses are non-cellular. So, yes, they are screwing up anything even remotely scientific. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/10 "2012-06-14T15:39:03Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > So, yes, they are screwing up anything even remotely scientific. Not if they are comparing the number of microbes to the number of human cells. Many microbiologists [include viruses as microbes](http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/about-microbiology/introducing-microbes/viruses). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/11 "2012-06-14T16:05:56Z")
Yeah, and how much of that are you really seeing in the mirror anyway? My guess would be roughly none. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/12 "2012-06-14T16:14:27Z")
So you are taking that statement literally? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/13 "2012-06-14T16:16:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > So you are taking that statement literally? Well, yeah - kind of. Otherwise, I’m not sure what the reference to the mirror was for. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/14 "2012-06-14T16:19:52Z")
I’m guessing you find life very irritating. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/15 "2012-06-14T16:31:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m guessing you find life very irritating. Sometimes. Not today, though. eta: Maybe it’s just because we don’t know each other well - but my sense of humor is pretty dry sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/16 "2012-06-14T17:05:59Z")
**Darth** , I might not know you very well, but I’m on quite good terms with your microbes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/17 "2012-06-14T17:34:22Z")
You might enjoy this short story: [Fever Dream](http://www.owenoneil.net/cinema/Science%20Fiction%20Cinema/Ray%20Bradbury/Novels%20and%20Short%20Stories/Bradbury,%20Ray%20-%20Fever%20Dream/Bradbury,%20Ray%20-%20Fever%20Dream.pdf), by Ray Bradbury ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/18 "2012-06-14T17:45:18Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Not if they are comparing the number of microbes to the number of human cells. Many microbiologists [include viruses as microbes](http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/about-microbiology/introducing-microbes/viruses). In the quote in your second post, they are in fact comparing the number of human cells to the number of microbe cells, and even if you count viruses as “microbes” they don’t have cells. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/19 "2012-06-14T18:05:18Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m guessing you find life very irritating. ROFL! There’s nothing more amusing for the sarcasm-deficient than watching two dry-humour types reduced to fisticuffs because neither can recognize the other’s attempt to joke. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127/20 "2012-06-14T21:18:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Darth** , I might not know you very well, but I’m on quite good terms with your microbes. > > 🙂 Yeah, they grow on you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-me-is-human-vs-microbe/625127.md?page=2)