Harmony in Complexity: The Symbiotic Symphony of the Human Body
Author - Ravi Kulkarni Ceiba trees in Costa Rica are ecologically significant and complex components of the rainforest ecosystem. Towering above the canopy, these trees are biodiversity hotspots, supporting a wide array of wildlife including birds, mammals, insects, and a variety of epiphytes like orchids and bromeliads. All of them and the tree live in total harmony; supporting and nourishing each other while not dominating or exploiting each other. Human body is similarly a large ecosystem consisting of thousands of species of bacteria, viruses, fungi and many other microorganisms. They colonize pretty much every part of the body but largely congregate in the colon. They play a vital role in digestion, extraction of essential micronutrients from foods and even synthesize certain vitamins such as B12, which the human body is unable to do by itself. Most major diseases are associated with some known or unknown disturbance somewhere in this complex system. Humans disrupt the ec...