 Barbara Snapp Or how I learned to love my bacteria. We are not human. We are a complex superorganism. We are host to many species whose members outnumber our cells and make up most of our combined genome. We have co-evolved to survive together, maintain health, and prevent disease. In this “hot topic” course, we will study how this relationship came to be, what it does for us, and why we have placed it in jeopardy. Topics What is the Microbiome? How did it evolve? What is the Human Microbiome? Acquisition Function How/why do things go wrong? Interaction with immune system Hygiene and antibiotics Role in chronic disease Cultivating our microbial garden Probiotics and prebiotics The course will meet on Tuesdays in April 2014 from 9:30 to 11:30 am. "Activities" contains any activities that will be done in class and/or at home. "Basic Information" contains the following files which will be updated as needed Topic and reading schedule Glossary Microbial Poetry It also contains lists of additional resources "Class Presentations" contains the power point presentations in pdf form. The presentation for each class will be added within a day or two of each class session. "Course Articles" contains the required reading and enrichment reading for each week. Required reading will be posted for each week by the week before that class. Enrichment reading will be posted shortly after each class session, if not before. The lists will be updated as relevant new articles are found. |