1. It’s the small things in life Why cook your chicken?

2. How do microbes help us? What mass of microbes (microorganisms) do you think you carry in your gut? What is the ratio of microorganisms to human cells in your body? What do microorganisms do for us?

3. When we think about microorganisms, we often think of them as harmful. However, our digestive system contains helpful microorganisms too. In a healthy human approximately 85% of the gut microorganisms are helpful. How are these ‘good’ microorganisms beneficial to humans? How do microbes help us?

4. Scientists are still discovering the answers, but here are some of the benefits identified so far: help digest your food help prevent the development of some cancers help maintain a healthy body weight help prevent diseases such as diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease and even arthritis.

5. Transfer between gut microbiomes The microorganisms in a particular environment are called a microbiome. The animals that we eat also have healthy gut microbiomes. The problems come when some of their gut microbiome gets into ours… Photo: Blaj Gabriel/Shutterstock.com

6. Transfer between gut microbiomes Photo: Anthea Sieveking/Wellcome Images

7. Transfer between gut microbiomes Photo: makovsky/Shutterstock.com

8. Your quick guide to Campylobacter Source: Crown copyright: Food Standards Agency, contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).

9. Chicken consumption Chicken is a relatively cheap, available and tasty source of protein eaten all over the world. But chicken is also a source of many cases of food poisoning, usually as a result of poor food hygiene (often in the home).

10. Chicken consumption Source: FAO, via http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/3025/global-poultry-trends-chicken-meat- consumption-exceeds-global-average-in-the-americas/.

11. Links to video The truth about Campylobacter (Food Standards Agency) Chickens and Campylobacter: The farm story Chickens and Campylobacter: The lab story (DEFRA-supported research into the origins of Campylobacter in chickens) Chicken and cross-contamination (culturing samples from raw and cooked chicken) Another case of poisoning (a 1949 public information film) https://thecrunch.wellcome.ac.uk/schools