Microbes and obesity

[Viking Dan]

Interesting article on how microbes in the gut affect your ability to use calories:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2006/05/22/gut_bugs_studied_as_a_cause_of_obesity/?page=full

[Gabriel Guzman]

Then again... mice are not humans and we don't even have the same bacteria in the gut. More interesting, perhaps, is to see populations that are really 'full of gut bugs' in countries with areas where sanitary conditions are not the best... the obesity rate there doesn't go hand in had with their gut bugs. Of course, then they could argue that it's because in those areas there may not even be enough food to eat.

I suppose somebody has to think of these kinds of explanations, even though there are some more obvious ones that for some reason very few are willing to even consider.

Or perhaps Wilfred Trotter was on to something when he said that "In sceince the primary duty of ideas is to be useful and interesting een more than to be 'true'."

[Viking Dan]

So you don't think I should gargle with penicillin?

;)