Gross stuff which is actually a collection of microorganisms. And reading further, there's the idea that our exposure to this gross stuff may be beneficial and one of the few ways we're still exposed to it. Or harmful.
Very interesting stuff in my opinion. Have studies like this been made more accessible due to cheaper sequencing?
And seeing as our bodies are colonies of microorganisms...
"Gross stuff which can maybe cause weird diseases."
Or help boost our immune systems by exposure? I couldn't tell from the article.
That's the point of the article; they know almost nothing about it, so there are currently data collection efforts so they can get a big picture. From there they can ask the detailed questions like that.