Gut Bacteria Classify People Into Three Types

The EpochTimes
by Cassie Ryan
April 20, 2011

Dr. Elizabeth Shephard, (Professor of Molecular Biology), Vice Dean Education, Faculty Life Sciences, University College London, UK, told us in her PowerPoint presentation on TMAU/FMO3, which she created for our Washington DC Meetup earlier this month, that there have been studies on gut bacterial genes associated with traits like age and weight indicating that there may also be markers for traits like obesity or diseases.

A team of scientists led by Peer Bork at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, looked at data from four countries, and discovered that, "the three enterotypes are not associated with nation or content," but rather,

“We found that the combination of microbes in the human intestine isn’t random,” Bork said in an EMBL press release. “Our gut flora can settle into three different types of community—three different ecosystems, if you like...The fact that there are bacterial genes associated with traits like age and weight indicates that there may also be markers for traits like obesity or diseases like colo-rectal cancer which could have implications for diagnosis and prognosis,” Bork said.

This article also discusses another recent study in which scientists found that stress can alter the number and diversity of bacteria in the gut...

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/55045/

---

María

María de la Torre
Founder and Executive Director

A Public Charity
www.meboresearch.org
www.brasil.meboresearch.org
maria.delatorre@meboresearch.org
MEBO's Blog (English)
El Blog de MEBO (español)
MEBO Brasil - Blog (Portuguese)

---

SUPPORT THE MEBO MISSION: Click Amazon button at right sidebar of this blog when shopping online for the holidays
at no extra cost to you.
MEBO gets small commission from Amazon.

Please use your credit card to make your donation to MEBO.

Subscribe for latest posts : Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

---

A EURORDIS and NORD Member Organization