Microbiology

The microbiome is so extensive in the living body, it is hard to think about life without it. There are so many functions of our microbiome that we don't think of everyday. Some of the functions are obvious, such as assistance in digestion. Other functions include vitamin K digestion and the processes that aids seratonin production. Current research is looking for a link between different autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, and a malfunction in the microbiome. The microbiome of everyone is slightly different, even among identical twins, because of different diets, exersizes, and experiences. The microbiome between an obese and a lean identical twin is very different, and research in mice is used to test if the lean mouse's microbiome can be safely transfered to the obese mouse to help that mouse loose weight. One form of microbiome transfer has been succesful for treating C.diff. This disease removes helpful microbacteria in the gut and leads to digestion and gastrointestonal problems. In this case the use of a fecal transplant from one healthy relative to the infected relative, is used to treat this disease.