wtf? where did this statistic come from?

I think it has to do with the fact that mammal cells are very very large compared to a lot of micro organisms. That is my guess.

Maybe he meant "only ten percent of us are human." :)

True, but I still find the statistic pretty astonishing, if it's true; I'd like to know the source.

This is very widely cited, and as a microbiologist I myself have taught it many times. But I had not seen a source. I think this MAY be the original, although it's been verified other times, other ways.... <link>

Very interesting, thanks for the reference!

I hadn't seen that; thank you. My source was a New Scientist piece from 1999, which is cited in the book (along with sources for all other statistics and facts).

You're on here? Great. I am definitely buying this book; thanks so much for writing it.

Biologista:

This is very widely cited, and as a microbiologist I myself have taught it many times. But I had not seen a source. I think this MAY be the original, although it's been verified other times, other ways.... <link>

Biologista:

This is very widely cited, and as a microbiologist I myself have taught it many times. But I had not seen a source. I think this MAY be the original, although it's been verified other times, other ways.... <link>

hmm. 10^9 bacteria per ml is a pretty crowded culture, even under ideal lab conditions. so, the paper says 9*10^14 bacteria in the body; that's at minimum then about 10^5 ml. or, a hundred liters of feces and intestinal contents. if that's the case, somebody needs exlax.

gzuckier:

Biologista:

This is very widely cited, and as a microbiologist I myself have taught it many times. But I had not seen a source. I think this MAY be the original, although it's been verified other times, other ways.... <link>

Biologista:

This is very widely cited, and as a microbiologist I myself have taught it many times. But I had not seen a source. I think this MAY be the original, although it's been verified other times, other ways.... <link>

hmm. 10^9 bacteria per ml is a pretty crowded culture, even under ideal lab conditions. so, the paper says 9*10^14 bacteria in the body; that's at minimum then about 10^5 ml. or, a hundred liters of feces and intestinal contents. if that's the case, somebody needs exlax.

typo! i meant 9*10^13. 10^5ml and 100 liters are correct.