There are a thousand billion species of microorganisms, but not all are nasty microbes. — Photography Prrrettty/Shutterstock via ETX Studio
PARIS, Jan 20 — They are as old as the world. They can be found absolutely everywhere in our lives. And we have learned to hate them. Yet, bacteria are good for us and could even help save humanity — as hard as that may be to believe in this time of pandemic. So in 2022, it’s time to learn to love these tiny living beings that are essential to our daily lives.
Celebrating bacteria in the midst of a pandemic may seem positively provocative. However, we should be careful not to tar everything with the same brush. Of course, there are bad bacteria — those that give you a stomach ache (or worse) when they’ve infiltrated raw foods or eggs (salmonella and listeria), or those that cause strep throat, gastroenteritis or worse, cholera. But there are also so-called good bacteria, those that can actually be beneficial to our bodies, because they’re not pathogenic.
According to the French bimonthly magazine Socialter, there are a thousand billion species of microorganism out there, compared to just 10 million animal species. Present since the dawn of time, what we sometimes refer to as microbes (often with erroneously negative connotations) are absolutely everywhere: in the air, in the earth, in the water. Measuring between one and 10 microns, these unicellular organisms “regulate ecosystems, modulate the flow of carbon and nitrogen, produce half of the available oxygen, form symbioses with all living things, protect against pathogenic microbes, facilitate the absorption of nutrients, inform the immune system and regulate a number of physiological parameters,” writes the magazine. In short, they are anything but enemies. And for some time now — just as biomimicry is developing in the hope of learning from natural processes — bacteria are being cultivated as generators of life.
What is “good” bacteria?
The tide perhaps began turning with talk of microbiota. Suddenly, it was all the rage to take an interest in the inner life of our intestines and those microorganisms that populate our guts, without which we would experience bloating, flatulence or seriously disturbed digestion. Indeed, you ingest them when you eat yogurt, bite into a pickle, swallow some sauerkraut or drink a beer. Bacteria are the basis of the fermentation processes that transform grape juice into wine, for example. During this natural process, microorganisms consume the sugar and water contained in the food. By multiplying, these microscopic living beings change the taste, as well as the texture and even the colour of a food.
Fermentation is not just a good way to preserve foods for longer (it is not only used to make pickles!). These microorganisms are also able to boost content of vitamins B and C, as well as zinc and iron, and even make proteins more digestible. The typical example is sourdough bread. This famous grayish concoction that many people embraced during lockdown has the ability to devour the phytic acid present in flours, responsible for that heavy feeling in the stomach. Effectively, the bread “pre-chews” this natural substance for us. Last summer, US researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine discovered that following a diet enriched with fermented foods for 10 weeks increased the diversity of the microbiome, and that it was even possible to help maintain weight, and reduce the risk of diabetes and cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease. Up to six such foods should be eaten to enjoy the benefits. Without us realising it, bacteria have become indispensable to our diets, as fermented products now make up 5 to 40 per cent of the human diet, depending on the culinary culture.
Five years ago, a study by BIS Research estimated that the market for fermented foods could be worth US$888.76 billion by 2023. And, for several years now, manufacturers have been working on food innovations populated with “good” bacteria. Take the pickle juice developed specifically for athletes by the American brand Pickle Juice Company, presented at the SIAL international food innovation show in Paris in 2018. Or the Korean brand Ligaro, which transformed its kimchi–an iconic K-cuisine staple based on cabbage and chilies — into jam!
Bacteria can make us more beautiful
But these microbes aren’t just doing good things on our plates. They are now increasingly being used in anti-wrinkle creams, moisturising serums and other products in the beauty toolbox. Cosmetic brands have realised that the fermentation process could be useful in this sector: letting these microscopic organisms proliferate supposedly helps obtain a better concentration of nutrients and antioxidants within the epidermal tissue. In fact, the active ingredients are reportedly boosted thanks to the breakdown of “bad” microbes and the multiplication of good bacteria. As such, in its recently published report, the American analyst WGSN naturally bet on fermented beauty as a trend that will boom in 2022.
… and also save humanity?
In the throes of a pandemic, it can be difficult to think of microbes as organisms that could help us build a better future. However, researchers in Quebec have been working on molecules produced by bacteria that can kill… other bacteria. This breakthrough could very well take the form of a future soap. This new-gen version would replace the current detergents that we relied on during the pandemic, which can be harmful for the environment considering their components based on oil derivatives.
Some bacteria are even capable of absorbing uranium and containing it in bubbles. This discovery by researchers at Michigan State University, which specifically concerns the Geobacter family of bacteria, represents a real hope in the fight against radioactive waste. Another microorganism — Serratia ficaria SH7 — has the capacity to absorb pollutants attached to monuments or statues. This news, reported by the French newspaper Le Figaro last June, helped us understand how curators and scientists managed to renovate the Medici Chapel in Florence.
The After Calendar
After the global shock of covid in 2020, the world was looking ahead to a calmer and more united post-covid reality. But ultimately it’s a digital, hybrid existence that has taken the lead, where screens have become essential in all our activities, from education to work, our love lives and what we buy. This accelerated virtualisation makes us nostalgic for pre-covid times, for an idealised vision of nature and the world. And this is how the metaverse and newstalgia have come to co-exist in our 2022 predictions, alongside Netflix’s influence on fashion, the end of likes on social media, the car of the future and 22 words to use this year. Check out all the incoming trends in our 2022 After Calendar. — ETX Studio