Microbes may play crucial role in human health

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Microbes may play crucial role in human health

• The Washington Post
• October 9, 2011

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Microbiome or Microbiota

• All of the microbes that inhabit a human body
• About 9 out of every 10 cells found in the human
  body

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U.S. Human Microbiome Project

• 5 year, 175 million project
• Led by Lita M. Proctor at the National Institutes
  of Health
• Goal To map the human host and all the
  attendant microorganisms
• Establishing an outline of a healthy microbiome
  through samples and looking at genetic codes of
  key microbes

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Antibiotics during pregnancy
Antibiotics for common childhood infections
Antibiotics added to animal feed to fatten
animals faster
Consume antibiotics in food
More antibiotics in the body
C-sections
Less microbes in the body
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Impact

• Gastrointestinal conditions
• Obesity
• Psychiatric disorders

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Applications

• Taking probiotics
• Finding substances that nurture beneficial
  microbes
• Microbiota transplants