Do you know this island off the Pacific named Microbiota? It is to these imaginary lands that the book “Voyage au centre du microbiote” takes us to understand the microbiota in its entirety.
A comic book on the scientific concepts of microbiota
« Voyage au centre du microbiote » is a comic book that marks a collaboration between INSERM* – as scientific advisor – and the Delcourt publishing house. It is written by the author duo FäSt and drawn by Héloïse Chochois.
This book, in the style of an adventure novel (with a rather banal storyline), provides a popularized understanding of the microbiota. Science, learning and humour are the ingredients of this playful book, which is easy to read for the initiated, but may seem more complicated at first sight for people with no scientific knowledge. Therefore scientific concepts that may seem complex are very often accompanied by illustrations, making it much easier for the reader to understand.
In this comic book you will learn about the microbiota, this key player in our health. What is it? What is the purpose of the micro-organisms that make it up? How does it help the human body to function? How can it go wrong (dysbiosis)? What is its link with diseases such as obesity, depression, or diabetes? How can it be rebalanced? Do we have one or more microbiota? What is the state of research?
All these questions are answered in “Voyage au centre du microbiote”.
Beyond the acquisition of knowledge, this reading invites us to reflect more deeply on our eating, environmental and societal habits.
Voyage au centre du microbiote, an adventure story
Discover Microbiota, a tropical island lost in the Pacific Ocean. Bought by an eccentric billionaire, Jeff Huxley, he set up his own laboratories to accelerate research on microbiota. He then surrounded himself with researchers to develop a bacterial cocktail, Eubiosa, intended to improve and prolong human life.
This was enough to attract a horde of journalists, including Alice Sentina and Raoul Pylore, who discovered this crazy and ambitious project. However, during the presentation of this famous universal remedy, a volcano on the island erupts. Journalist Alice Sentina and billionaire Jeff Huxley find themselves isolated in the centre of the island, where they experience many adventures. On their journey, they meet Professor Urani, a former researcher living like Robinson. The latter is against Eubiosa, the unique microbial mixture for the entire population. He will explain what is known about the microbiota, but also the dangers of uniformity, of our current lifestyles…
We recommend this entertaining comic book to learn more about this often-neglected organ, which nevertheless contributes to our health on many levels. Numerous well-done figures help to illustrate complex scientific concepts. Nevertheless, some scientific knowledge (or an interest in science) is necessary to understand the entire collection.
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References
*INSERM : Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale / National institute of health and medical research
FäSt, Héloïse Chochois. Voyage au centre du microbiote. Delcourt, 2022
