Title: “Gut microbes Contribute to Age-Associated Inflammation in Mice” by Abby Olena
Article: https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/49189/title/Gut-Microbes-Contribute-to-Age-Associated-Inflammation-in-Mice/
Source: The Scientist, Call-Host and Microbe
Date: April 12th, 2017
Summary: Cell and tissue inflammation naturally increases as animals age, but researchers recently discovered a connection between changes in the gut microbiome of mice and their overall inflammation levels. Researchers found that the intestines of aging mice were more permeable, contributing to an overall increase of bacterial products in their bloodstream. They colonized the gut microbiota of young and old mice, some germ-free and some wild-type from each age class. They saw higher levels of inflammation in the wild-type mice, especially the older group.
Connections: This article relates to the micro biome lecture, as well as emphasizes the fact that microbiomes vary between individuals and between age groups.
Critical Analysis: I found it interesting that they used germ-free mice as a control group; the concept of germ-free mice is just interesting to me in general. It would have been nice if the author of this article would have explored in further detail the mechanisms and characteristics of the gut flora at play.
Question: How could the information derived from this study be applied to the medical field/human health?
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