Have we "hygiened" ourselves into abject chronic illness? Has our quest to eradicate bacteria and viruses backfired? Have we entered Purell hell? Take a look at the state of American health. Seems the White House is looking at the Microbiome - and that's good. Like our politics, a wildly swinging pendulum from left to right with a quick swipe through the center, our healthcare and medicine may have reached it's outer limit of "die germ die!" mode. Our own Teresa Conrick has been studying and writing about the Microbiome.
White House Begins New National Microbiome Initiative To Understand Benefits Of Bacteria
"unify" is just polispeak for control. how dare nature/evolution/god leave all us self-centered chemists and pharmaceutical developers and synthetic medicine advocates out of the loop on this, they think. i think who are the 40 scientists/doctors that pleaded for government assistance on this and got it? we don't have to ask why anymore, and they say it themselves, it's all so they can "alter" them, i.e. new patents for new pharmaceuticals.
and yes, it's already been done. gmo bacteria has already been created. fda/epa still living in a vacuum.
Posted by: Jenny | May 17, 2016 at 11:08 AM
All the government is looking for is a way to make even more money...in other words they won't change a damn thing they are doing to the environment. They'll just look, in partnership with big pharma, on how to patent bacteria!
Posted by: Not convinced | May 16, 2016 at 06:19 PM
Gary,
Exactly what I was going to say. These idiots are the epitome of stupid hubris. As Stephen Hawking pointed out, their meddling in altering microorganisms is the worst danger facing mankind.
Posted by: Linda1 | May 16, 2016 at 04:11 PM
"...but can the White House then make the leap to the foundational, and undoubtedly environmental, causes of these alterations?"
Not if Bill and Melinda Gates have anything to say about it.
Posted by: annie | May 16, 2016 at 10:55 AM
"Alterations in human microbiomes cause diseases, including allergies, asthma, autism, diabetes, and even obesity, said Microbiology Professor Martin Blaser. . . .” This is progress, surely, but can the White House then make the leap to the foundational, and undoubtedly environmental, causes of these alterations? Also striking to me was this: “A Tech Times report has stated that about 99.999 percent of the 1 trillion microbial species in the world are yet to be discovered.” So we know next to nothing about them, yet are altering them, with profound consequences, and this is not a national crisis an order of magnitude above any we’ve ever faced?
Posted by: Gary Ogden | May 16, 2016 at 09:48 AM