The Yanomami, who live in the Amazon rainforests of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil, are one of the last hunter-gatherer and small-scale farming indigenous groups in the region. It also has the most diverse gut microbiota of any human community ever studied.
David Goode is half Yanomami. His mother is a member of the Colorado community and his father is from America, where Goode was raised. After a life-changing reunion with his mother in the Amazon as an adult, Goode is currently pursuing a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. His research includes studying the Yanomami’s abnormal microbiome (the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live on and in our bodies) with the goal of developing new treatments for microbiome-related conditions. will be
where he says new scientist About his work with Yanomami, from collecting stool samples from family members and gaining first-hand experience of their diverse diet, and why he never eats armadillos again, from studying their microbiomes, we until you can learn
Claire Wilson: May I ask about your family? How did your parents meet?
David Goode: Understood. My father was a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University who had been tasked with entering the Amazon to study the protein intake of the Yanomami. There was some debate as to whether or not [The Yanomami have been falsely portrayed by anthropologists as engaging in a great deal of warfare and violence over access to resources.] He fell in love with the Yanomami way of life: …
