Episode Synopsis "Trusting a Gut Instinct"

While traditionally considered notorious, what if some bacteria actually help the immune system rather than harm it? Caltech microbiologist Sarkis Mazmanian describes his efforts to harness the good bugs in our guts to improve health for people with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and autism—his idea once dismissed as a "hunch" but now gaining acceptance from scientists and society.Sarkis Mazmanian is the Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology and a Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator at Caltech.

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More episodes of the podcast The Lonely Idea

• A Formula for Success
• Earth's Vital Signs
• Our Quantum Complex Universe
• The Engineer Who Fixes Hearts
• The Neuroscience of Stock Markets
• Calling on Electrons
• Trusting a Gut Instinct
• The Lonely Idea Trailer