John Hawks' really needs to permit comments on his blog. I mean, without comments, is it really a blog? I bring this up because this post really belongs in the (non-existent) comments of this post from Hawks. Hawks discusses this article on human gut flora fauna microbes.
According to the article, we are superorganisms that depend on our gut microbes to assist us in digesting food, much like these guys. We get a lot of our intestinal buddies when we pass through the birth canal, and we pick up others throughout life (see here for more on intestinal microbes). The worms that are attached to the bottom of the ocean, however, can only get their helpers from the environment.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Razib mentioned here an article in the Boston Globe "which profiles researchers who suggest that variation in gut flora (the mix of bacteria) might be the cause of differences in body weight." The comments are somewhat skeptical, and I started to write a comment on the topic but it became a bit…
I'm still working on finishing up 3 manuscripts (one book, 2 journal articles) so I've not blogged quite as much this week as I generally do. Next week I should be back up to speed, and have a few topics in the queue that I want to get to. Luckily for you, though, John Hawks has a pair of…
I have posted on microbial diversity in the soil previously. Tara pointed out that even though we are just now learning about what ecological factors determine soil microbial diversity, we also have a lot to learn about microbial diversity within the human digestive tract. She asked:
I wonder…
I mentioned in the Introduction to Microbiology and Infectious Disease that many people don't understand the difference between a commensal and a pathogenic organism. I also mentioned that I'd try to write something about microbial ecology. Since I just gave a lecture yesterday on normal human…
I can't entirely blame Hawks for not having comments given his subject matter; anything to do with human origins and human evolution invites cranks and ignites firestorms. Look at some of the racist wackos who show up at Razib's old blog. If Hawks doesn't want to have to deal with that, it's understandable.
afaik that's what trackbacks are for... i don't know if they predated comments in blogs, but in a way trackbacks are better..because it means that everything originating from you is in YOUR blog.. but things in your blog that are commentary on another blog can be visible from that blog w/ trackbacks..
i think that's how the theory goes.. (to prove my point i should have posted this in a trackback..hmm?)