Life on Us (ATOM Study Guide)

There is an unexplored world in our solar system – a strange world where bizarre creatures are locked in a fight for survival. This world is the human body, and it's teeming with unknown ecosystems. We are home to a trillion cells that are not us, but are very much the making of us. They cling to the skin and grasp onto our hair. They live inside our gut, in our blood … and even in our brain. We are not just human. We are all collections of organisms. If we'd get rid of all the microbes on us and inside us – we'd die.

Yet thinking it made us healthier, we do our best to scrub nature off our bodies. This disconnection from the web of life is causing disastrous consequences. So doctors have begun to do the unthinkable: they are re-introducing the bugs into our bodies. Worm therapy and poo transfusions are some of the new ways of treating illness. We need to think about our body as an ecosystem. After all, only at birth we are purely human. We are a Superorganism, an interconnected web of life. Between the bookends of birth and death is a vista of an unexplored world: Life on Us.

Running time: 2 × 50 mins

Curriculum Links:

This study guide is suitable for the following curriculum areas:

• Science
• English
• Media Arts