Not only family. The microbiome of children is also shaped by social relationships from a very early age. This is supported by a study conducted at the University of Trento and published in the scientific journal Nature. Specifically, the researchers looked into microbiome transmission in previously unexplored environments and age groups. To do this, they worked with the Trento Municipality's Childhood Services and Education Office and three local nursery schools. Previous research has shown that germs enter the human body through the mother during delivery and then spread among cohabiting adults. However, the mechanisms of how the early childhood microbiome assembles in the first few years of life to form a complex and individual ecosystem in adulthood remain unknown. This study may be the missing link in the chain. The researcher's initial idea was that the early social situations in a human's life, such as nursery schools, could facilitate the trade and acquisition of gut bacteria. This mechanism shapes the microbiome throughout the critical first thousand days of a person's life. The study focused on how the microbiome's bacterial components are acquired. The answer comes not only from the family, but also—and maybe more importantly—from society. According to the researchers, "the development of our microbiome is influenced by the social interactions and shared spaces that we engage in during the first year of life, as well as the microbiome that we acquire from our family members. This process is instrumental in determining the distinctive collection of bacteria that each individual possesses".