I'm not here to tell you how to celebrate the holidays; whatever you do, do it all for the glory of the Lord. I simply observe that there is a lot of diet discussion this time of year, and so a new paper examining why dieting works and more significantly why it doesn't work caught my eye. Yes, it involves the microbiome; turns out that Innerspace is the final frontier. Mice that switched back and forth between a high fat diet and a "regular" diet actually gained more weight than mice on a high fat diet all the time, … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Cutting the String on Yo-yo Dieting
microbiome
Science Corner: It’s a Micro, Micro, Micro, Micro World
I've seen quite a few interesting microbiology stories in the news recently and I couldn't pick just one, so we'll take a little survey of what's happening. Most relevant to your immediate future was the recent FDA ban on certain anti-microbials in soaps and other hygiene products. Don't worry, the bacteria aren't celebrating; washing with regular soap and water will get rid of just as many of them, and products like alcohol-based hand sanitizers will remain available because they have demonstrated utility. The FDA is … [Read more...] about Science Corner: It’s a Micro, Micro, Micro, Micro World
Science Corner: Viral Frenemies
It's hard not to think of viruses as our enemies in some fashion. Whether it's fictional pathogens like the one in Contagion or real ones like ebola, most of us only encounter or think about viruses when they are making us sick. And viruses do make lots of people sick, sometimes fatally, so that impression is not entirely unjustified. As a result, a finding like this one about a virus making a constructive contribution to human embryonic development may be difficult to accept. Admittedly, the "puppet master" language … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Viral Frenemies