“Overselling the Microbiome”

In this chapter some case studies are discussed. In these case studies, the pragmatic approach, combined with the computational power of metagenomics, presents some shortcomings. Their illustration allows the analysis of the lights and shadows cast by the development of a number of microbiome and ‘personalised medicine’ startups – a field promoted by major economic interests but which also opens up new socio-political and health horizons. The chapter provides a number of interpretations of this transformation, caught as it is between research and market.