Minerva Thalyss uses her micronaut to travel into the microbiome of her sister Fleming. Meanwhile, in the real world, Theda teaches Michiel a valuable lesson in biology. Where to start? The tree of life. We learn that every living thing shares the same ancestor. You think you're 'all human'? Guess again.

Biopolis - into the microbiome is created by Michiel van Poelgeest for the Max Delbrück Center. Script consulting by Jeff Emtman, additional narration by Colette Kinsella.

Michiel travels to Berlin to meet Dr. Theda Bartolomaeus, who tells him about the microbiome.'We are putting too much pressure on the microbial communities that live within us", she explains. But what is the microbiome? Why is it important that we understand it?

As we get to know Theda a bit, we learn about these microbes that - apparently - are everywhere. And: we meet 'Minerva Thalyss' and her journey into the human body, as we listen to the first chapter of the fiction story that is part of this podcast-series.

Biopolis - into the microbiome is created by Michiel van Poelgeest for the Max Delbrück Center. Script consulting by Jeff Emtman, additional narration by Colette Kinsella.

A young scientist ventures into the human microbiome in search of answers. Biopolis is an original audio series that is part non-fiction and part science fiction.

Dutch podcastmaker Michiel van Poelgeest follows Dr. Theda Bartolomaeus, a young German biologist living in Berlin, on her journey to understand the microbiome, to map the universe that exists within us.

With her research she is hoping to make sense of it all: is the microbiome broken? Is something wrong with its diversity? Who are these microbes anyway? Michiel knows nothing about biology. Theda, as it turns out, has a story to tell…

Biopolis - into the microbiome is created by Michiel van Poelgeest for the Max Delbrück Center. Script consulting by Jeff Emtman, additional narration by Colette Kinsella.