Article 31EN4 Are gut microbes really a panacea, or just overhyped? | Mo Costandi

Are gut microbes really a panacea, or just overhyped? | Mo Costandi

by
Mo Costandi
from on (#31EN4)
We are beginning to unravel lines of communication between gut and brain. But don't hold your breath for the probiotic that will lift your mood

Historically, microbes have been associated with deadly diseases such as bubonic plague, smallpox and malaria. But they have had a bad press: only a tiny minority are pathogenic (capable of causing disease), and in fact many of the microbes that live on and in our bodies - especially the trillions of bacteria residing in our gut - may be beneficial, or indeed essential, for human health.

Related: Organisms created with synthetic DNA pave way for entirely new life forms

Continue reading...
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://feeds.theguardian.com/theguardian/science/rss
Feed Title
Feed Link http://feeds.theguardian.com/
Reply 0 comments