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Thursday, January 23, 2014
Developments towards identifying impact of gut microbes
In this article on the Medical Xpress by Bob Yirka, he explains how a team of researchers at Washington School of Medicine has developed a method for identifying the impact that individual strains of microbes in the human gut have on the person housing them. Over the past few decades, scientists have come to realize that microbes in our guts play a far more important role in our lives than anyone might have thought of. Scientists know that microbes help ward off diseases and help digest our food, and they are also responsible for how much fat our bodies hold and for causing ailments such as colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or Crohn's Disease. If scientists figure out how the impact of gut microbes work, they can cure such diseases. In order to do this, scientists inject gut microbes into mice and this causes the mice to gain weight. The author does a good job of explaining how gut microbes work and how it can help us. He also explains the process of testing the mice very clearly and notes that with more scientific research, certain diseases can be cured. Nothing in the text was unclear, it was all straightforward and explanatory. This article is clearly unbiased, the author is clearly just explaining how gut microbes work and how scientists are on a breakthrough to figuring out how to cure diseases with them.
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Very Interesting. I know now that I have little microbes in my gut keeping healthy and alive. I did not know much about microbes or what they did until I started taking biology. It amazes me how big of a roll they play in our bodies and in the world, but they go unnoticed and a lot of people do not even know they exist. I find it very interesting how they help us live until we die and then they decompose us. I had no idea how important microbes were to our body and after reading your blog I now know that they help us digest our food and fight off diseases. I also find it pretty cool how science is now using microbes, which are so small to cure these diseases. Perhaps these studies of microbes will open new doors to bigger problems and have solutions for them.
ReplyDeleteI found this post hitting very hard at home with me. My old Band Director in high school has Crohn’s disease. She isn't doing so well and it’s very hard to see someone that has made a huge impact on my life go through something as terrible as this. This article you read did seem very clear to understand even though I didn't read it, but you made it clear for me to understand what the author was talking about. I to think it would be really beneficial for the human race if scientists are able to find out why gut microbes act the way they act, and to see if they can find ways to counteract those ways the kill our bodies or cause us different kinds of diseases. I don’t necessarily agree with the animal testing that has been done to find out how they work, but in order to find out how it’s done I guess a little bit of sacrifice needs to happen.
ReplyDelete-Dennis Gabaldon
Kashif, what questions does the article raise for you personally? What might you want to learn more about? Did anything surprise you? Dennis raised some good issues to think about too.
ReplyDeleteMan, this was extremely interesting, to think of the infinite amount of possibilities out there when we talk about researching possible cures for diseases. And to think that it would come down to the very body that inhabits that disease and maybe the cause. This article seemed like it was extremely fact based and no real biased was present, even now it makes me think of the things we get affected by, the human body is truly a magnificent creation, unlimited amounts of microorganisms either working against us or for us. Why not utilize those organisms on our side, this article enforces that ideal.
ReplyDeleteWest Nile Virus (WNV) sounds like an extremely dangerous and recent disease. It seems like mosquitos are the little pests that are transferring the virus, which sounds extremely dangerous to me. Mosquitos are little bugs that are detectable but sometimes unavoidable. It would be great if humans could be immune to the WNV especially if it comes as a nasal spray. I am curious how the virus affects mosquitos because they are an important part of our ecosystem. I am wondering if there is a decrease in mosquitos since the disease was found in the US. I am also wondering if there will be any side effects of the vaccine or nasal spray. It seems that almost all vaccines come with a cost because other bacteria die as well. I just hope that with our new found technology we will still be protecting our bodies and not destroying beneficial microbes that live on and in us.
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