The human can be thought of as a human-microbe hybrid, and the health of this
superorganism will be affected by intrinsic properties such as human genetics, diurnal
cycles, and age and by extrinsic factors such as lifestyle choices (food and drink, drug
intake) and the acquisition of a stable “healthy” gut microflora (the so-called microbiome).
Alterations in this superorganism will be manifest in the metabolite complement within its
serum and urine samples. The unraveling of this metabolic compartmentalization in this …