Microorganisms constitute the bulk of all the biomass on Earth. I weighed myself yesterday, and wondered how much less I would weigh if I were completely free of bacteria and microbes, inside and out.
Approximately how much weight and volume do microbes occupy within the average human body? How were these values obtained?
Answer
@AlanBoyd's calculations are reasonable, I think the estimate is off though. The human microbome includes other bacteria which are not necessarily E.coli equivalent.
The human microbome projects give estimates that microbes are 1-3% total body mass. i.e. several pounds of bacteria.
The GI tract alone has most of the microbome mass - faeces is ~60% intestinal flora/fauna by dry weight, which for many adults alone must be hundreds of grams at any given moment.
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