In Sustainable Microbiology, Nova Scholar Susan Prescott, Fellow Alan Logan, and coauthor introduce the concept of legalomics, the application of microbiome sciences and omics technologies to forensic and legal psychology.
The authors argue that microbial ecology plays a foundational role in cognition and behavior, factors central to justice outcomes, yet this dimension remains largely absent from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), which calls for promoting inclusive societies and ensuring justice for all. They highlight emerging evidence that gut microbes influence emotions, decision-making, and impulse control through multiple pathways including neural routes, immune signaling, and metabolic regulation. Also, structural disadvantages such as poverty, food insecurity, and environmental exposures can shape the gut microbiome in ways that may increase behavioral risks and reinforce inequality.
The authors argue that justice systems remain rooted in prescientific notions of free will and moral blame, while carceral institutions often exacerbate dysbiosis through poor nutrition, social isolation, and other deprivations. They propose that SDG 16 should expand to incorporate microbial ecology into criminal justice reform, offering a framework for prevention and healing that bridges sustainability, equity, and human dignity in the pursuit of just societies.
