Could Microbial Biotechnology Help End Human Suffering?

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) published a list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global call to action to ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Ten years later, it is painfully clear that these ambitions are still far from being realized.

An editorial, published in the journal Microbial Biotechnology, has highlighted the diversity, interconnectedness and interdependencies of the causes of human suffering and the role microbes could play in addressing these struggles.

The authors explore how available and emerging microbial biotechnology could provide solutions that combat preventable human suffering. They argue these technologies are central to the goals of SDG three, which aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

Microbial biotechnologies, including vaccines and microbially-produced and inspired pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, play a critical role in the prevention and cure of diseases. These technologies also help monitor our wastewater and keep our food safe, among other applications.

“Microbial technologies can address both a wide range of needs and interdependencies of problems. However, the deployment of such technologies to address key issues of the SDGs is woefully inadequate,” Dr. Kenneth Timmis, emeritus professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig, told Technology Networks. “The goal of our editorial was to draw attention both to the huge range of causes of human suffering and the exceptional potential of microbial technologies to address many of these causes.”

Microbial biotechnology: Small organisms with big potential

Human suffering can come in many guises, including forms not addressed by mainstream medicine. These include “physical and mental diseases resulting from interpersonal abuses, human displacements due to global warming, extreme weather events, desertification, conflicts and discrimination,” stated Timmis.

By focusing efforts on technologies and activities that can positively influence multiple SDGs, it may be possible to help bridge the current gap between reality and the UN's ambitious goals of peace and prosperity for all.

“One of the problems is the formulation of the SDGs themselves, which are to some extent fragmented and siloed, whereas in reality the issues they deal with are all intertwined and interdependent to a greater or lesser extent,” said Timmis. “Effort thus needs to focus on the nodes that influence multiple SDGs, the systemic barriers to progress.”

Timmis believes that microbes, which impact many aspects of human health, are one such node that could benefit multiple SDGs: “They represent a treasure trove of new benefits just waiting for discovery and exploitation. But the discovery of new benefits is poorly funded and organized so progress is slow.”

“In 2014, we proposed the creation of national and international interdisciplinary programs to discover new, biotechnologically relevant chemicals from microbes in order to multiply pipelines of humanity-advancing products. More than a decade later, I still think this is a better idea for public (and private) investment than building new roads,” Timmis continued.

Despite the potential of microbial biotechnology, microbes are often only discussed in the context of the problems they can pose. “Microbes were the principal cause of human suffering before the development of hygiene practices and modern medicine, so a fear of them is ingrained in the human psyche. This fear was recently reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic,” explained Timmis.

“Realization and appreciation of the hugely beneficial nature of the vast majority of microbes is a recent development and is taking a while to become mainstream.”

The International Microbiology Literacy Initiative (IMiLI) hopes to quell these inherent fears by developing a curriculum in societally relevant microbiology and making a range of teaching resources freely available. These resources discuss how microbial activities directly affect us and the biosphere, including both the positive and negative influences they can have. In addition to raising awareness of the existence of microbes, the resources also discuss the influence they have on the UN SDGs and their ability to solve pressing problems of societal inequalities.

“Its [IMiLI’s] aim is to create a microbiology literate society able to take decisions that fully exploit the potential of beneficial microbial activities in the service of humanity and the biosphere, and that minimize harmful activities,” stated Timmis.

Embracing microbiology education for a healthier future

Underlining Timmis’ work is an appreciation for the importance of microbiology education. The paper points to the need to “accelerate appreciation of the power of microbes to address problems and the deployment of relevant microbial technologies”.

In the context of preventing human suffering, Timmis points to the microbiome as a growing area of research with untapped potential. “Quite apart from pathogens causing infections, our microbiomes can either promote or hinder infections and non-transmissible diseases, physical and mental. The subject of microbiomes in health is in its infancy but promises to be wide-ranging, have many ramifications and be key to precision (personalized) medicine. Many anticipate that it will be hugely important in future healthcare, both in terms of prophylaxis and therapy, and particularly for neuropsychiatric diseases.”

But, what would happen if microbial technologies were not embraced, either through ignorance or design? The authors argue this would be equivalent to “condemning humans to unnecessary suffering with the personal responsibility that such decisions embody”.

The editorial is a call to action for scientists and policymakers to embrace the potential of unfamiliar microbial technologies.

Timmis hopes this paper will lead to actions that will inform and facilitate behavioral changes that can prevent or alleviate many aspects of human suffering. These actions include: “Investment (in microbial application discovery), education of the public in the importance of microbes to human and biosphere lives and wellbeing and the need to appreciate and take them into account when forming opinions and taking decisions at all levels (personal, family, community, nation and world); extensive funding and deployment of microbial technologies where they are appropriate, needed and desired, especially to increase wellbeing in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” concluded Timmis.