You Host 10,000 Species of Bacteria!

After five years of research involving 200 scientists from 80 institutions, they have discovered that humans harbor some 10,000 species of bacteria, both beneficial and harmful.

After analyzing DNA from each bacteria, they were able to determine that bacteria perform vital functions in our bodies and form an ecosystem of their own. In healthy people this ecosystem is in balance, with beneficial bacteria likely keeping the harmful bacteria in check.

So in other words, the big discovery for science here is that humans are not just a collection of parts that get diseased, but contain fully functioning, complex ecosystems of bacteria that help keep us healthy.

And now perhaps they will start to look at human beings in a Holistic way, and not solely on a disease based model.

And anyone who eats yogurt regularly can attest to the benefits of bacteria on the human body.

BTW, this study cost $173 million and was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The DNA sequences of the bacteria will enable scientists to study their behavior and devise new types of medical remedies for many common health issues.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-13-16-47-23

 

Here's another story on the study, with more interesting details about their methodology for discovering what the bacteria actually do...

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-bacteria-20120614,0,6726004.story

 

No shit!

Actually this anti-bacteria hysteria has gone way too far, and sponges are a good example!

Does your sponge get a really funky mold smell after awhile? Are you using an antibacterial dish soap? That is what causes it! When you kill all the bacteria, you kill beneficial bacteria too, which then allows the most virulent bad bacteria to thrive. And so within a week or so after you use a new sponge it begins to start smelling, bad!

I had this problem for awhile because for a period I couldn't find any dish soap without the antibacterial ingredients. Then I noticed that "clear" dish soap was finally coming out without any harmful chemicals (Palmolive has one). I immediately switched over and discovered that not only did it clean better and smell better, my sponges stopped getting that moldy smell. My sponges now last until they start to fall apart, just like they used to before.

This is a perfect analogy for what we are doing to the planet. We are trying to kill all the bacteria on ourselves, in our homes, in the very earth we grow our food. Our attempts to sterilize everything ends up having the reverse effect, infection by the worst of the worst bacteria, with no beneficial bacteria to keep them in balance.

This bodes ill for the future...

 

What you're not getting is that we (the hippies) knew all this back in the early 1970s! It's science that is dragging its feet because it refuses to believe in wholistic medicine, instead it still uses the disease model which is from ancient Greece!

So if you wanna talk about something old, talk about modern medicine!

Most doctors still think all bacteria are something bad, to be killed, with strong pharmaceutical drugs... amazing...