Although at times it lurches into speculation it’s meticulous in giving references to the scientific literature and it’s changed my thinking. We have to come together and reject farming practices and healthcare policies that ultimately lead to the destruction of our human microbiome. Dr James Kinross is a senior lecturer in colorectal surgery and consultant surgeon at Imperial College London and a visiting professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

I’ve got a great PhD student looking at how bacteria might reduce the adverse side effects of chemotherapy. The global pandemic of non-infectious diseases is, arguably, a greater threat to humanity than that caused by any communicable disease.As someone with a PhD in Biotechnology, I can confidently say that "Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome" by James Kinross is a fantastic read that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in health and well-being.

If you change their diet to one that is high in fat and protein but low in fibre, you see dramatic changes in the functions of the microbes that exist within their gut. To better themselves; individually and collectively - these people need access to more (and not less) energy that is 1) cheap, 2) reliable, and 3) scaleable. He oscillates between over simplified (and occasionally unsuitable) analogies and paragraphs that probably need first year undergraduate knowledge to understand fully on the first read.Kinross makes it clear that the composition of the microbiome has been implicated in many conditions, but the truth is that this is really nothing new. In summary, "Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome" is an enlightening and invaluable resource that I would highly recommend. We are now experiencing an internal climate crisis - Dark Matter reveals that if we work with, not against, our microbes, we can live better, healthier lives. The result is that although we are living longer than ever before in history, we are not living happier.