TV premiere of the documentary Ces microbes qui nous gouvernent

On November 5, the television channel ARTE will broadcast the premiere of a new documentary entitled Ces microbes qui nous gouvernent ("These microbes that govern us").

The 54-minute documentary explains that there is not a single corner of our planet that is free from microbes: they can be found in the oceans, from the water's surface to the murky depths; in soil and plants; in the intestines of tiny insects and in the bodies of mammals, including humans.

Did you know that out of the trillions of bacteria that live on our planet, less than 1% are pathogenic? Recent discoveries show that microbes were not only at the origin of life on earth but they also became essential for the continuation of life. Today they are recognized as being jointly responsible for our evolution, a finding that even challenges Darwinian principles.

Breathing. Eating and digesting. Growing. Protecting ourselves. Reproducing. For all these vital functions, humans, and more generally all organisms on earth, live in symbiosis with bacteria. This documentary presents a new vision of life sciences, dominated by the microbes that govern us.

Grégoire Chevalier and Gérard Eberl from the Institut Pasteur's Microenvironment and Immunity Unit were involved in directing this documentary.

Check out this extract, and don't miss the full documentary on Saturday November 5 at 10.35pm