WIRED25

Pioneering molecular physiologist Janelle Ayres argues that, for too long, we've treated our bodies like a battlefield, waging chemical warfare on the pathogens that make us sick. In her lab at the Salk Institute, she's discovered that other elements of our physiology—including the good germs living in our guts—are just as important for surviving an infection. WIRED science writer Megan Molteni sits down with Ayres to discuss her attempt to upend centuries of medical doctrine on how the human body fights disease. You'll never look at your microbiome the same way again.