Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

Yachtold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

To learn more about Yachtolt, visit yawcult.co.

.jp. That's Y-A-K-U-L-T.C-O.JP. When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacult.

Hey, listeners, happy new year. For Scientific American Science quickly, this is Rachel Feldman.

Whether you're an avid backpacker, an occasional park stroller, or someone whose relationship

with the great outdoors falls somewhere in the middle, you probably already know that

spending time in nature is a great way to de-stress.

But what if leaf peeping could do more than just help you unwind?

Well, according to a recent book, the sights, sounds, and smells of plant life can have serious impacts on our bodies.

My guest today is Kathy Willis, a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, where she also

serves as principal of St. Edmund Hall. She's the author of Good Nature, why seeing, smelling,

hearing, and touching plants is good for our health.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Pleasure, absolute pleasure.

So you're a professor of biodiversity and a lot of your work focuses on the well-being of plants and their ecosystems.

How did you become interested in how plant life impacts human health and wellness as well?

So that's right. I'm very much someone who's always

worked at the sort of interface between looking at vegetation and climate change and very

academic. But then I was working on a big international project. Part of my role was to pull

together the information about the relationship between nature and human health. And as I was

...