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Say Hello to the Bugs in Your Gut

 

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Taking a census is important for several reasons. "We need to know who's there, especially the good bugs that make up the majority of the microbial community, so we can minimize any harm to them when we go after the bad guys," says George Weinstock, a professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine who is working on the project.

While obesity gets most of the attention, Gordon has his eyes on another prize: fighting malnutrition. Making microbes in the gut more efficient could be one way to help the millions of people around the globe who don't get enough to eat each day or those who involuntarily lose weight while battling cancer or heart failure.

Skerrett is editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. Walker is the Conrad Taff Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. For more on nutrition and health go to health.harvard.edu and health.harvard.edu/newsweek.

© 2007

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Member Comments

  • Posted By: MegaDeath @ 10/24/2008 1:01:51 PM

    I think that under Obama's Health Care Plan for senior citizens is the Soylent Green Program. Obama's plan will save thousands of dollars for every nursing home and hospitals. Under this exclusive coverage, any senior citizen who reaches the minimum age of 70 years old will be required to be detained and taken to one of the Soylent Green Program Plants to be processed into little green crackers that are edible, packaged and sent back to area hospitals and nursing homes, where they will be given to existing senior citizens to eat. It's a great plan that saves money, everyone should agree that Obama has a good solution to elderly populations.

  • Posted By: mjkittredge @ 05/28/2008 4:15:08 PM

    I wonder if this has effected me. A year ago, I could eat whatever I wanted, gorge myself, and not gain any weight. That all ended, for some reason. Now my stomach and behind are taking on some extra weight, much to my displeasure. I also had some severe stomach problems a year ago, I wonder if that had something to do with it.

  • Posted By: lfjourney59 @ 01/08/2008 9:54:22 PM

    Good article. Perhaps this information will move obesity from a moral issue to a biological issue and overweight people will no longer suffer the judgment of their thinner neighbors who see themselves as morally superior, when in reality, they're just biologically lucky.

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