Month: June 2018

If I was the head of a funding agency and I needed to decide on a research project to award funding to I would give funding to the project that looked into probiotics and their efficacy. The project would probably have something to do with being prescribed in conjunction with antibiotics, possibly probiotic vs placebo after completing a course of antibiotics. The study would collect various biological samples to try to ascertain the affect on the microbial populations and it would track other effects such as diarrhea, etc. I think what we would likely learn from this kind of project is that probiotics are beneficial to those with depleted microbial diversity, especially those who have just completed a full course of antibiotics. This would be important for the future of healthcare because it would alter how we treat different diseases.

Some human non-infectious diseases that are influenced by microorganisms are diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, alzheimers, and various cancers, such as mouth cancer and cervical cancer.

Looking back to my response to Writing Exercise #1 I feel that my list has come a long way from where I once started. Before, I was unable to list a single non-infectious disease that was affected by microbes with certainty. I am now much more aware of the impact microbes can have on various non-infectious diseases and am able to create a reasonably sized list of various non-infectious diseases where microbes play an important role.

The first question “can experiments detect differences that matter?” is important because if your experiment isn’t going to yield any useful information then it’s kind of a shot in the dark, it is essentially useless till you find out that the results matter. The second question “does the study show causation or correlation?” really brings to light the importance of the data, causation is very hard to prove scientifically, where as correlation is much easier. However, correlation doesn’t have the same large impact that causation does. The third question “what is the mechanism?” is important because without the mechanism we aren’t truly sure of the science behind the data. The mechanism is useful in determining how we can use the acquired data to our benefit, to positively impact human health. The fourth question “how much do experiments reflect reality?” is a strong question because if the data you’re acquiring isn’t realistic in the real world then it’s not a good model for how the real world works. The whole point of experiments is to be able to put together a model of what happens in the real world. The last question “could anything else explain the results?” brings about the potential for confounding variables. If the experiments conducted did not have good controls while keeping all other variables stable then the results could be due to other variables, meaning the data is essentially useless to the hypothesis being tested. I feel that the last question is most important when discussing controversy because if your data isn’t done with solid methods, then the data is essentially useless in terms of discussing controversy objectively.

1. Hanage W. 2014. Microbiome science needs a healthy dose of scepticism. Nature 512:247–248.

Microbial communities in the body could influence brain and mental states by affecting emotional behaviors and other related brain systems.Researchers conducted large-scale population-based studies of the gut microbiome and brain imaging studies trying to determine the effects of the gut microbiome and how it affects the brains responses to emotional stimuli. They are hoping to show that the gut microbiome can affect disease by altering the development of autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain [1]. From the alternative perspective, brain and mental health states could influence microbial communities by changing gut microbial populations of those with disease.  Some scientists believe that some credit should be given to the alternative hypothesis. Instead of the microbes causing the disease, the disease could be changing the microbial population in the human gut [2]. For example,  a child with many ear infections may require multiple courses of antibiotics. This can promote further worsening of disease by altering the gut microbiome and causing the child to become susceptible to other diseases and infections.

 

1. Mayer E, Knight R, Mazmanian S, Cryan J, Tillisch K. 2014. Gut Microbes and the Brain: Paradigm Shift in Neuroscience.
2. Hanage W. 2014. Microbiome science needs a healthy dose of scepticism. Nature 512:247–248.