  Our view of the microbial world and its impact on human health is changing
radically with the ability to sequence uncultured or unculturable microbes
sampled directly from their habitats, ability made possible by fast and cheap
next generation sequencing technologies. Such recent developments represents a
paradigmatic shift in the analysis of habitat biodiversity, be it the human,
soil or ocean microbiome. We review here some research examples and results
that indicate the importance of the microbiome in our lives and then discus
some of the challenges faced by metagenomic experiments and the subsequent
analysis of the generated data. We then analyze the economic and social impact
on genomic-medicine and research in both developing and developed countries. We
support the idea that there are significant benefits in building capacities for
developing high-level scientific research in metagenomics in developing
countries. Indeed, the notion that developing countries should wait for
developed countries to make advances in science and technology that they later
import at great cost has recently been challenged.
