Jake Robinson is a microbial ecologist and researcher in restoration genomics at Flinders University. He has a particular interest in the relationship between biodiversity and human health and on developing new strategies for restoring ecosystems. His book Invisible Friends was released in 2023, and his upcoming book Treewilding: Our past, present and future relationship with forests is due out this year.
Emily Wong – What is the relationship between microbes, urban environments and human health?
The biodiversity hypothesis, also known as the “old friend’s hypothesis,” argues that we’ve co-evolved over thousands of years with trillions of microorganisms in our natural environments, and that these have played key roles in training and regulating our immune system. The vast numbers of microbes in our bodies play really important roles in keeping us alive – they aid digestion, allow our cells to communicate with each other, and produce chemicals important to our mental health.
