This is the price of symbiosis. Even when microbes aren’t as crucial to their hosts as a cicada’s symbionts are, they still exert a powerful influence on our lives and our health. When they go rogue, the consequences can be disastrous. That’s why humans and other animals have evolved so many ways of stabilising their multitudes. We restrict them by relying on the chemistry of our bodies. We corral them with physical barriers. We can go for the carrot, by nourishing them with dedicated foods. We can beat them with the stick, by using phages, antibodies, and other parts of our immune system. We
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