Reading Reaction Journal # 6

Reference

Say, T. H. (2011, April 7th). Gut microbes may foster heart disease. Science News. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/72372/title/Gut_microbes_may_foster_heart_disease

Summary

            This article discusses the role of microorganisms in development of heart disease. Scientists from the Cleveland Clinic found that bacteria which live normally in the human gut may cause artery blockage by accumulating products resulting from changing fats in some types of food such as meat, dairy, and fish in human stomach into substances. Daniel Rade, a heart disease specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said ,“We probably have underestimated the role our microbial flora play in modulating disease risk”, while the non-participant, Rader, said the role of bacteria in the incidence of heart disease and diabetes is not important, but it may help in the development of these diseases. A study to examine blood plasma in the heart of patients and deceased people was made by Hazen and his co-workers. They discovered 18 types of the simplest unit of chemical substances resulting from digestive fats; they were accumulated in the arteries of those people. Intestinal bacteria can change lecithin, a type of fats, to gas with bad smell within the gut; this gas will be converted to another product, which is called trimethylamine N-oxide or TMAO. The researchers figured out the correlation between increasing TMAO in the blood and increasing the chances of heart disease in humans and mice. The scientists also found that TMAO will not be produced when they get rid of the gut bacteria by using probiotics; they couldn’t determine which type of microbes contributes in forming TMAO. Many researchers refer to the risk of these bacteria with fats such as colin, an important nutrient which is found in different types of food, on the health of people’s.  According to Hazen, people health will not be good as a result of taking large amounts of this type of nutrients.

Reaction

            My major is Microbiology, so I was very interested in reading this article, which gave me new information on the role of microorganisms in development of heart disease. I knew from this article that the normal intestinal flora can convert lipids that are found in certain kinds of food into harmful products. These products are accumulated in the artery and lead to a hardening of the arteries. This article gave me extra information about the stages of formation of the harmful products. I was very interested in reading this article because it relates to human health, but I noticed that there is a debate among specialists with regard to the importance of the gut bacteria. While some scientists confirmed the usefulness of this group of bacteria, others argue that the elimination of it reduces the risk of heart disease. It is known that the gut bacteria live in the human gut without harming people any more, but now there is a charge that they cause the most serious kinds of diseases. I was surprised when I read that some scientists claim that it is good to get rid of these microbes by using antibiotics or drugs in order to prevent TMAO production; this is not appropriate for people because there is a symbiotic relationship between enterobacteria and the human. If these bacteria are killed, the balance will be destroyed in this relationship; for example, the people will not profit from the various types of vitamins that are produced by intestinal bacteria, and killing the enterobacteria can make people suffer from certain intestinal diseases such as Diarrhea. Therefore, I think it is better if the scientists find alternative methods to protect people’s health such as conducting studies on the metabolism of these bacteria and detecting the type of bacteria which is responsible for the occurrence of the risk. In this way, the harmful kinds of bacteria will be attacked and eliminated rather than dumping all kinds of bacteria, including beneficial types.

Reading Reaction Journal # 5

 

Reference

Zammer,C.(2001,April 20). Bacteria Divide People Into 3 Types, Scientist say. New York Times.Retrieved April 21, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/science/21gut.html?_r=1&_=1

Summary

            This article discusses the division of people into three groups depending on the types of bacteria which live in human intestines. It is known that humans are classified into four groups according to blood types, but now there is a new way to recognize the people; this way relies on the type of microorganisms which live in the human gut. This discovery is recorded by Rob Knight, a biologist at the University of Colorado. A team of scientists of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, discovered no correlation between enterotypes and a national or racial group of people; also they did not find any correlation to gender, age, or the condition of the body, so they searched to find new information.  The author said that children's guts are inhabited by several types of microorganisms which make the intestine appropriate for small kinds of them, and these microbes help to produce substances chemically such as vitamins and  to assimilate food. Dr. Bork and his co-workers mentioned that each kind of microbes makes different state of enzymes work; for instance, enterotype 1 provides the enzymes which help to synthesize vitamin B7, and enterotype 2 helps to produce vitamin B1.The article indicates the importance of blood groups for the doctor, and it stated that knowing the three varieties of bacteria will give advantages to the medicine someday. Dr. Bork said, “Some things are pretty obvious already ” ; he meant that it is possible to use enterotypes to find substitution to antibiotics that are not producing the effects or results that are wanted by trying to supply promotion to beneficial species of bacteria. The article indicates that the human body contains about 100 trillion bacteria, while it consists of only 10 trillion cells. DNA parts were removed from different parts of human body such as skin and saliva .Scientists examined and compared the genes of micro biome with either new or common types of bacteria such as   E.coli .Also, studies have indicated the presence of a significant difference in the types of microbes from one person to another in certain parts of the human body such as the mouth, and  the scientists asked whether these studies can detect the unity of people’s microorganisms. Now that genotypes of the hundreds of species of bacteria that live in the human body have been identified, it is possible to compare with these sources to identify the functions of each type of genes and identify any species depending on its genetic information. In addition, the recent study by Dr. Bork and his team on healthy people, people with intestinal problems, and overweight people showed that each group of people has different type of micro biome, and each group is consisted of various kinds of microbes.

Reaction

            My major is Microbiology, so I was very interested in reading this article, which gave me new information of the existence of heterogeneity in the type of microbial aggregates in the gut of healthy, unhealthy, and obese people. I have already learned that there are many types of the bacteria  that live in the human intestines, and they help the human body to regulate many metabolism processes as well as produce many kinds of vitamins such as vitamin B1 and B2. This article gave me extra information about the discovery of genetic maps and how they are used to identify bacterial species, and it helps me to figure out the different types of bacteria in the three groups of people. Although the author stressed the existence of the micro biome of the three groups of people, he did not explain the reasons that led to this variation. When I read the article I thought about the reasons for the existence of a certain group of microbes in the gut of   a certain group of people. If the intestines of the healthy people are inhabited by the bacteria which is called Bacteroids, that means it is the normal kind of the gut micro biome, so why do people with intestinal diseases have different types of microbes? Are there special types of chemical compounds that are produced in the intestines of unhealthy people? If so, what are these products? Do they encourage the growth of a group of microbes without the other? Is the growth of these bacterial groups negatively affecting the growth of the gut micro biome? Do the microbes which are living in the gut of unhealthy people have a role in developing the intestinal problems or no? Do such types appear when the immune system of the body becomes weak? I think it is important to find a new system to classify the people, but we have to find explanation for each of the questions which are mentioned above to strengthen this system.