Fact

You have about as many bacterial cells as human ones

The famous ten-to-one figure was wrong, and the truth is stranger.

1 min read

The long-repeated claim that microbes outnumber human cells ten to one traced back to a rough 1972 estimate. A careful 2016 recalculation put the ratio closer to 1.3 to 1 for a reference adult – and noted it swings back toward parity after a single bowel movement. Still: roughly half of you, by cell count, is not you.

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