Keith: Hey, Everyone, I Am Here at the American Museum of Natural History to Learn More

Keith: Hey, everyone, I am here at the American Museum of Natural History to learn more about The Secret World Inside You. I am Keith Kocinski, and Channel One News starts right now.

Tom:We will check in with Keith in just a bit. I am Tom Hanson here with your headlines, and first up: Wall Street began 2016 with a rocky start as the nation's stock market fell within the first few minutes of trading. The first day of trading was so bad, it was the worst yearly start in 84 years.

Investors are largely blaming China. The country reported weak manufacturing numbers, which means China's economy is slowing down after years of going up and up. China's benchmark index fell more than 7 percent, triggering new circuit breakers that stopped trading. Then markets all over Asia and Europe dropped sharply.

Wall Street followed in the same direction, and by the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a list of 30 companies from Coca-Cola to Exxon, closed
276 points down.

Timothy Anderson: It's a little unusual for us to have this much volatility the first day of the year.

Tom: One more problem adding to the stock market woes: oil and the Middle East. Oil prices are shaky right now after the country of Saudi Arabia, a huge oil producer, cut ties with Iran.

Next up: if you have had to learn the periodic table, well, scientists are throwing you a curveball. Now there are four new elements to learn all about.The four new elements fill out the seventh row of the periodic table, making it complete. Say hello to Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118. They have temporary names for now that start with "un" and are pretty hard to pronounce, but soon they will get their permanent names.

The four elements are not found in nature and were created in labs. And it took a while for scientists to confirm their existence because they are unstable and vanish quickly. It is the first time the table has been updated since 2011, and it could still get bigger. In theory at least, there is no limit!

All right, after the break: a culture story that may make your stomach turn.

Tom: Now, when you think of microbes like viruses and bacteria, it probably makes you feel a littleuncomfortable, right? But did you know there are more microbes on the palm of your hand than there are people on the entire planet? And scientists are beginning to learn more about our own personal microbe ecosystem and the role it plays in identifying us. Keith Kocinski has the story.

Keith: Our bodies are like little planets that host millions, actually, upon trillions of tiny bacteria, viruses and fungi; how does that make you feel?

Amirah Woods: It makes me feel really disgusted.

Girl: It makes me want to go take a shower.

Steven Sanchez: It's a scary thought that I don't really want to think about.

Keith: Yeah, it may sound scary, but it is the truth. Our bodies are covered with microbes, inside and out.

Susan Perkins: About 2 to 3 percent of your body weight are microbes. Your microbes weigh about as much as your brain.

Keith: A microbe is an organism that is too small to be seen without a microscope, like bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. They have been around much longer than humans and are everywhere in the air, soil, rocks, water. And some microbes don't even need oxygen to survive.

And these tiny creatures are what bring me to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City at an exhibit called The Secret World Inside You. This is what a microbe looks like inside our body, but much, much, much smaller. And scientists are learning that these things may be just as important to us as our own cells.

There are an estimated 30 trillion cells in our bodies, but less than a third are actually human; 70 to 90 percent are bacterial and fungal cells.

When I think of viruses and bacteria,I think they are bad.Is that really the case?

Perkins: The vast majority of microorganisms that live in and on our body are either good for us or just peacefully coexisting with us, and they'll do what they need to to keep the bad guys out.

Keith: The whole collection of different microbes that live on our skin and inside our bodies actually make up its own ecosystem called the human microbiome.

Perkins: The study of microbiomes is a majorbreakthrough in science. Our own cells and our own genes are only part of what makes us human.

Keith: For a long time, scientists and doctors have been finding ways to kill the bacteria that can make you sick with antibiotics and antibacterial soaps. And they have saved millions of lives.But sometimes killing the bad also kills off the good, and overusing antibiotics has led to a rise in bugs that are harder to kill with drugs.

Perkins: We don't want to have to stop taking antibiotics because they are very effective, and we need them at times. We may have a growing problem if we expect those drugs to be effective in the future.

Keith: While scientists are looking at ways to restore those positive bacteria colonies, they are also learning new things about these microscopic managers.

Perkins: Our diet is probably the primary way that we can alter our microbiome, which is helping us digest food in our gut,but it interacts with our brain,so it can change our mood and our behavior, and it is very critical for maintaining a healthy immune system.

Keith: Our microbiome is a habitat, and scientists say each individual’s is unique based on things like where you live and what you eat.

Perkins: Any two people might only share 10 percent of the same microbes.

Keith: And our microbiome is like a fingerprint: on the outside, a cloud we carry around, leaving behind a unique microbial signature. And we are also unique on the inside.
A recent Harvard University study showed that after one year, 86 percent of people studied could be identified by their bacteria in their gut. And it may soon be a way forensic teams identify criminals.

Perkins: I think we're still at a very early stage, and we realize that microbes can change very rapidly.

Keith: As we continue to explore life on our own personal planet,one thing scientists know for sure: you take care of your microbes, and they will take care of you.

Perkins: I really hope that visitors will walk out feeling a sense of “I am an ecosystem;I need to keep this ecosystem in balance, and in some ways,I have the ability to do that. It’s partly in my control."

Keith: Keith Kocinski, Channel One News.
Tom: Wow, pretty interesting stuff. All right, now, for nine facts on bacteria that might surprise you,head on over toChannelOne.com.

All right, after the break:one school that is making sure some of its students stick to their health goals in the new year.

Tom: All right, now, with the start of the new year, what is on everyone’s mind? New Year’s resolutions, and yesterday we asked you, did you guys make a New Year's resolution?

Seventy percent of you said yes, while 30 percent of you said no.

Emily said, “My New Year's resolution is to make sure all my grades are As."

Draak said, "I want to be a better person, read more books, watch less TV, spend less time on technology and more time studying."

Brock said, "I resolve not to make a resolution."

Maggie said, "This year my resolution is to get more involved in local and national politics."

And Evelyn said, "It is to eat healthier and to be more active."

And many of you wrote in saying that your New Year’s resolution was to be more fit, lose weight, eat healthier and get in shape. Even I want to hit the gym a little more.

Azia: You are not alone, Tom. One school in LA is making sure that New Year’s resolution is a lifelong goal by giving students the tools they need to make fitness fun.

At this Los Angeles high school,gym class has a whole new look. The new program, called Sound Body Sound Mind, hooks up underserved schools in LA with the latest fitness equipmentalong with lesson plans designed to boost students’ confidence and make fitness fun.

Percival de la Cruz: What it's actually doing is setting them up to be active for a whole life, for their whole lives.

Azia: Experts say that is badly needed in Los Angeles, where more than 40 percent of young people under 18 are either overweight or obese.

Dr. Anastasia Sideris: Every kid should be able to enjoy physical activity and exercise.

Azia: UCLAProfessor Anastasia Sideris says there is proof the program is working. Students that took part in Sound Body Sound Mind performed better in California's standardized physical fitness test. In fact, the percentage of students who passed the test tripled.

Freshman Leslie Marticorana says she feels the benefits both in and out of school.

LeslieMarticorana: It keeps me healthy, and so the fact that I'm healthy, it helps, like, my brain just work better.

Azia: The program is in nearly 100 middle and high schools in Los Angeles and could be expanded to even more. And the program, which is run by UCLAHealth’sSound Body Sound Mind Foundation, costs about $3 million total.

Tom: Wow, pretty cool. Thanks, Azia, All right, guys,that is all we have got for you today.We will see you right back here tomorrow.

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