Eating well, exercising regularly, and having a satisfying social life are all crucial to staying healthy. Sometimes, however, it can be the tiniest things that make the biggest difference. In this case, those tiny things are microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. The metabolites they release can have profound effects on our bodies. In a new study using iPS cell reprogramming, an academic-industry collaboration led by CiRA Prof. Haruhisa Inoue shows how such metabolites may affect cortical neurons from Alzheimer’s disease patients and healthy individuals.