graham.hobart
29-08-2014, 11:20 AM
Been reading a couple interesting articles about our own biosphere- the trillions of microbes that live on us.
Apparently they are as individual as finger prints and a new discipline " forensic microbiology" is exploiting this.
Plus the BBC ran an article recently on the increase in allergies and tied this is in with reduced exposure to environmental bugs when younger- kids living in doors in a sterile kitchen and toilet, no pets or plants or other wildlife etc.
An extreme is recent research supporting that removing your own harmless bacteria can have all sorts of deleterious effects (too many antibiotics etc) and actually putting them back anecdotally helps in such diverse conditions as Crohns, IBS, even depression ! (see doco "Life on US"
Some enterprising docs in the US are doing pooh transplants- getting healthy bug laden stools from screened populations (so no hepatitis etc) and whipping it all up in a thick shake maker then injecting it during colonoscopies. Seems to have some good results.
Very interesting line of work.
We have evolved over tens of thousands of years to be in symbiosis with certain bugs and now we are upsetting the relationship, with unforeseen consequences (dental caries, heart disease, inflamm bowel, some neurological inflammatory conditions all implicated)
Any one for a Pooh shake?
Graz:thumbsup:
Apparently they are as individual as finger prints and a new discipline " forensic microbiology" is exploiting this.
Plus the BBC ran an article recently on the increase in allergies and tied this is in with reduced exposure to environmental bugs when younger- kids living in doors in a sterile kitchen and toilet, no pets or plants or other wildlife etc.
An extreme is recent research supporting that removing your own harmless bacteria can have all sorts of deleterious effects (too many antibiotics etc) and actually putting them back anecdotally helps in such diverse conditions as Crohns, IBS, even depression ! (see doco "Life on US"
Some enterprising docs in the US are doing pooh transplants- getting healthy bug laden stools from screened populations (so no hepatitis etc) and whipping it all up in a thick shake maker then injecting it during colonoscopies. Seems to have some good results.
Very interesting line of work.
We have evolved over tens of thousands of years to be in symbiosis with certain bugs and now we are upsetting the relationship, with unforeseen consequences (dental caries, heart disease, inflamm bowel, some neurological inflammatory conditions all implicated)
Any one for a Pooh shake?
Graz:thumbsup: