WHAT IS THE HUMAN MICROBIOME?
The human microbiome is composed of the bacteria, archaea, fungi, microbial eukaryotes, virus that live on and inside of us. These microorganisms (and virus) are called our microbiota, and collectively encode more than 100x the number of genes in your human genome.
OUR PROPOSAL
This is a research program to help you understand the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit your body, their role in our diet and their relationship to our health and disease.
WHO ARE WE WORKING WITH?
SCWC is working with The Microsetta Initiative (also known as the American Gut Project), a non-profit academic research project run by the Knight Lab in the UC San Diego School of Medicine. The effort is based on the open access and open source principles of the Earth Microbiome Project, and derived from the early efforts of the National Institutes of Health’s Human Microbiome Project.
By participating in this project, you can be a part of the research that will help the world understand how the microbiome relates to our health. In return for your participation, we generate a report that summarizes the types of microbes observed in your sample and their relationship to other people from the study.
WHY SCWC Barcelona 2021?
At SCWC we want to contribute to your personal knowledge of how your diet and the way you cook affects your entire nutrient absorption process. We also want to contribute to the microbiome research program. This part is very important, but in addition, and only for those who wish, through SCWC we have decided to go a step further and initiate a study that will explore two more topics:
- The importance of the plants you eat. The diversity of plants we eat has been found to have one of the strongest associations with microbial diversity. Does your diverse diet pair with a diverse gut microbiome?
- The oral microbiome is the place where microbes first have the opportunity to interact with food. Do your oral microbes suggest that you’re a carnivore, omnivore or vegetarian?
This study will start at SCWC Barcelona on 8 November 2021. It will only be offered to those registered for SCWC Barcelona 2021 and each registered person will have their own personal results.
The overall results of the study will be presented the following year during the SCWC Barcelona November 2022 and the research will be further developed.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Registration: You can register for this programme through the SCWC website (https://scienceandcookingworldcongress.com/en/congress/).
Execution:
If you are attending the SCWC Barcelona in person, you can choose to pick up and return the material at the congress. There will be an information stand during the congress.
If you are attending online, you will receive an email with instructions on how to register.
Receive the kit:
You will receive 2 kits during the SCWC (8 November 2021) or by post within 4 weeks from this date. Each kit contains a complete instruction packet for the process, but in brief: you’ll register the kit online, take a questionnaire, collect and record your sample, then ship it back to the laboratory in a prepaid shipping box.
Results:
About four months after the congress you will be notified that your results are ready in your online account. You then log in to see what we have found in your sample.
Note: The results you receive are research grade, and not actionable or suitable medical diagnosis. We cannot provide medical information or recommendations based on your results. If you complete the optional Food Frequency Questionnaire, you will be provided with an assessment of your overall dietary patterns. As this is a global study, SCWC will provide constant information about the project and its advantages.
Price:
This whole process has a high cost and in the face of the SCWC we have made an effort to be able to carry out the project and for everyone to benefit.
Price for those registered in the Congress: 195€