This is Photo 51, an x-ray diffraction image that served as critical evidence for identifying the double helix structure of DNA. Swipe to see it in 360°.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ For years, we believed the DNA encoded in the 20,000 protein-coding genes known as the human genome was responsible for everything about us—determining everything from hair color to which diseases we may be at risk for. ⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ But we've also discovered another genome, that of our microbes. You probably know it by now—your microbiome.☺️ Researchers estimate that the human microbiome contributes some 8 million unique protein coding genes. ⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ In other words, 99% of the genes expressed in our bodies is microbial. Mind blown.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ That's not to favor one over the other; what it means is that our microbes work intimately with our genes to affect how we function—the genome is only half the picture. The entire field of epigenetics has now evolved, studying how factors, like our microbes and their metabolites, can actually influence our...