OUR INVISIBLE FRIEND: HOW THE MICROBIOME & BACTERIA ARE REVOLUTIONISING DESIGN
From the moment we are born, we are coated with rich bacteria that protects us from life-threatening pathogens and this becomes the basis of our own unique microbiome which will determine our health and longevity. The human body is a host to millions of microbiomes and the rise of bio-technological devices has opened up new possibilities to enhance the functions of the body.
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By Schona Nagi
Design by Geraldine Wharry
This report aims to take you through how bacteria are being utilised in design and what this could mean for the future of our health, by breaking down answers to these key main areas:
1/ What is the primal relationship between humans and bacteria?
2/ Harnessing data and robotics to eliminate disease in the body using bacteria and what would this mean for the future of wellness
3/ How designers are exploiting bacteria in design
1/ What is the primal relationship between humans and bacteria?
CDC- Source Unsplash
So how did human beings get here?
We live in an ‘over-medicalised’ world and the lack of good bacteria missed out at birth creates an imbalance of microbiomes, weakening our immune system. Dia Munoz ‘explores the relationship between bacteria and future health’, and suggests that the ‘rich bacterial transfer’ enters the baby’s skin and helps protect it from potentially life-threatening pathogens which is key to shaping a human being’s future health. The community of bacteria in the gut may help infants thrive and possibly avoid illnesses such as asthma and diabetes.
“ A considerably altered microbiota has been linked to a form of gut inflammation that is a leading cause of death in infants who are born prematurely”.
There has been a slow decline in natural births, and this may affect a baby’s opportunity of the ‘natural bacterial transfer’.
But babies delivered by caesarean section do not come into contact with the necessary microbes in the birth canal. A baby born by C-section loses the essential microbes which are critical in the development of the immune system.
The MYKROH Project has made it possible for mothers to go through bacterial therapy after birth which may include a range of ‘medically safe products’, to allow a healthy bacterial transfer to a new-born.
The human body is a vessel for millions of microbial communities and continues to live harmoniously inside us. The most sterile environment in our body is actually the nervous system, which is home to a viral colony. To understand the benefits of these microbiomes, we have to explore how they keep us alive in the first place.
Firstly, let’s take a look at the cycle of chemical exchange that takes place inside of us. Bacteria makes it possible for our body to digest food and for elements such as ‘carbon, nitrogen and oxygen to be returned to the atmosphere’. Let’s not forget the role it has on our mental health, when there is an imbalance of microbiomes in our body, particularly the gut, this leads to inflammation.
“A huge proportion of your immune system is actually in your GI tract,” says Dan Peterson.
Scientists’ research show that this continuous process between organisms and their environment is vital for our eco-system, as without them life would not exist. According to Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, ‘The microbiomes in your gut could predict whether you’re likely to die in the next 15 years’. As mentioned, research has strongly linked microbiome disturbances such as depression, mood-swings, cravings, diabetes, heart disease and weight management with the bacteria in our gut.
In the realm of wellness, we explore the importance of gut bacteria on our overall health and how this affects an athlete’s performance. The pandemic has been an indicator of what it means to be healthy, we know that environmental factors and diet play a role in shaping gut microbiota; sometimes referred to as the ‘forgotten organ’.
“We can use both the microbiome and human genetics in the clinic to improve patient quality of life.”’- Harvard Medical School
Let’s look at marathon runners for instance, scientists have found ‘certain species in the gut’ that seem to be more apparent in marathon runners after a race. It was evident that Veillonella bacteria were more abundant in some athletes’ than non-athletes’ after a race.
We have seen an emerging trend in the fitness industry of consuming higher amounts of protein. However this affects the body’s microbial communities and its ability to take up nitrogen into the small intestine.
This makes us question, could our gut bacteria be an indication of how healthy we are?
Our ‘hunter-gatherer’ ancestors’ diet mostly consisted of a plant-based and fiber-rich diet, therefore sustaining a diverse microbial community in the gut. Similarly, we can find that ‘hunter and gatherer’ societies such as the Hadza people in Tanzania have a higher microbial community. African ancestry has been associated in recent research with a stronger inflammatory response than people with European ancestry, which limited the growth of bacteria.
2/ Harnessing data and robotics to eliminate disease in the body using bacteria. What would this mean for the future of wellness?
The emergence of employing good bacteria in medical practice has allowed scientists to explore the possibilities of using living microbiomes and robotics to eliminate disease in the body and aid patients back to health. Researchers at the University of Bristol have found a way to use biofriendly protocells to pump up blood vessels. The synthetic protocells are coated in a ‘red blood cell fragment’ and are injected into the carotid artery to allow a sufficient amount of nitric oxide to ‘initiate the biochemical pathways responsible for blood vessel vasodilation’. This opens opportunities for potentially creating cell-like objects that can interact with living biological tissues, creating an interaction between bacteria and other microorganisms.
What would it mean if we could introduce living organisms externally using robotics?
"This work could open up a new horizon in protocell research because it highlights the opportunities for creating therapeutic, cell-like objects that can directly interface with living biological tissues." - Professor Stephen Mann
Would it be ethical to redesign parts of the body to stave off disease? Designer Agatha Haines’ project Circumventive organs, embraces the aesthetic of ‘the weird and wonderful’ biological materials that exist inside us.
The organs would be made using ‘bioprinting technology and the idea is to use cells from animals such as ‘rattlesnakes, leeches or electric eels’, for heart patients and for the thinning of blood clots in the brain. This is gradually becoming a reality for future medical practice; implementing the use of microorganisms to lengthen lives.
We also see similar themes of tailoring the body being explored in Tina Gorjanc’s project where she dives into the future possibilities of future organ bioengineering. The project envisions enhancing a particular body function and would change our relationship with utilising living cells. It is striking to see that it may soon be a possibility to improve certain bodily functions through bioengineering.
Tina Gorjanc
Could enhancing the body’s system using nature made by nature be the future? The reality of this is celebrated by Neri Oxman, using bacterial luminescent liquid to create ‘wearable skins’; to represent photosynthetic organisms. The wearable structures were designed with the idea that humans might one day need to survive on another planet, with a built in synthetic biological mechanism to provide for the body.
"Such functions will, in the near future, augment the wearer by scanning our skins, repairing damaged tissue and sustaining our bodies, an experiment that has never been attempted before”.
Futurist designer and researcher Marion Lassere, questions bacteria and the symbiosis with the living. We have seen that human beings are constantly interacting with microorganisms; The Microhack project imagines ‘a world where people voluntarily infect’ themselves with fungus. The Microhack implant becomes functional when worn and allows the wearer to use it’s own body to trigger the device by breathing.
Microbiota has become an object of consumption, of assertion, of resistance
3/ How designers are exploiting bacteria in design
Designers are now exploiting bacteria for innovative design products, in order to create an experience for the wearer.
Naila Al- Thani project ‘seam unseam’, investigates garment longevity and sustainability inspired by living organisms as an alternative method to extend a garments lifespan. The garment is constructed together without stitching, instead a biosynthetic protein strip is incorporated which is derived from a ‘Squid Ring Teeth’ through a process called bacteria and genome sequencing. The ring teeth of a jumbo squid is a naturally occurring biomaterial and is comprised of a firm, elastic composition making it 100% recyclable.
Similarly, we see Rosie Broadhead develop ‘a new interaction between fabric and skin through probiotic technology’. In collaboration with Microbiologist Dr Callewaert, the project explores the revolutionary benefits of ‘encapsulating probiotic bacteria into the fibres of clothing. The probiotics in the garment becomes activated when it comes into contact with our skin and moisture and are places uniquely where you would normally sweat. The aim is to use the natural elements produced by our bodies to reduce body odour, encouraging cell renewal and improving the skin’s immune system.
MIT Design Lab x PUMA explore ‘How Living Organisms Enhance Performance’.
The practice of bio design has allowed PUMA and the MIT Lab to create products using bacteria. The bacteria in the t-shirt are woven into the fabric and these ‘microbially-active carbon eaters’ respond to the wearer’s active surroundings and informing them about air quality. Other wearables include ‘breathing shoe’, which enables the wearer to have a personalized ventilation system that keeps the foot cool. This technology could enhance an athletes’’ experience, creating a dynamic interactive relationship with their clothes using bacteria.
‘PUMA Biodesign explores the new frontiers of biological design and fabrication to bring advances in science and biotechnologies closer to our daily lives through sport products.’
‘buildings of the future will be living, breathing ecosystems, constantly replenished with good bacteria to support human immune systems, while keeping out the (very few) bad bacteria that can hurt us.
It has been shown that people living in urban cities are lacking the necessary microbiome diversity needed for a healthy, functioning immune system.
What does this mean for the future of architecture?
Scientists are looking into harnessing bacteria in architectural buildings. The average human being spends about 90% indoors and our health may be compromised if we are not exposed to new bacteria everyday, especially buildings designed with poor materials, for example, buildings that have led and excessive mold exposure can make us sick. ‘Bio-active’ surfaces, infused with ‘good bacteria’ could be build into walls, chairs and carpets to allow a continuous flow of beneficial microbes to be secreted indoors. A study with lab rats showed that the bio-active structures reduced the likelihood of allergic reactions.
Microbial ecology could become just another design consideration for architects.
Is the future of health to live without disease? The problem is not the microbiomes itself, but the environment which it is nurtured in that threaten our health. We see that the lack of the necessary microbiome diversity at birth is shown to cause long term health issues such as; asthma, diabetes, depression, allergies and autoimmune disease. We must increase our microbial metabolites, by getting close to nature and allowing our bodies to take in healthy microbes.
Scientists have suggested the use of biobanks as a solution to revitalise the body’s missing microbes, by collecting microbiome samples from populations who thrive in a less modern lifestyle than we do.
Microbes are us; after all the human body is made up of approximately 380 trillion viruses, fungi and bacteria. It is almost impossible to determine where human beings begin and microbiomes end, as they are both deeply intertwined.
| Schona Nagi is a Fashion Design student currently studying Womenswear at Kingston University. She studies sustainability and wellness with avidity and adopts an experimental and innovative approach to creative research. Excited by the emergence of technology and science in fashion, she hopes to expand her knowledge in these areas of design.