THE PENDULUM
PAGE 6 .' WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
news
Scientists claim tlie body not all human
Kristin Feeney
Reporter
Iht'v cannot bo seen. The>
cannot always be felt. Without
them, humans would not exist.
Microbes are microscopic
organisms that profoundly
shape this planet and life on it.
Despite being non-human
in origin, scientists have found
that even within the human
body, microbes are estimated
to outnumber human cells by
a factor of lO-to-one. This ratio
would mean 90 percent of the
average human being’s body
is composed of an entirely
unknown array of microbial
communities.
To better understand just
how important microbes are,
the National Institutes of
Health has launched the Human
Microbiome Pro.ject. The five-
year, SI 15 million initiative is
set to identify and analyze the
human microbiota and its role
in human health and disease.
Researchers have four
objectives: To determine
whether individuals share a
core human microbiome, to
understand whether changes
in the form of the human
microbiome can be correlated
to changes In human health,
developing new technologies
to support this initiative and
addressing ethical, legal and
social implications raised by
human microbiome research.
.Antonio Izzo, assistant
professor of biology, looks
forward to the implications of
the project.
“We always like to think
MICRO DEFINTIONS
MICROBIOME
A term used to describe the
entire grouping of microbes,
their genetic elements (called
genomes), and environment
interactions. Microbiomes are
usually comprised of microbiota
and tfieir complete genetic
elements.
MiCROBIOTA
The microscopic living organism
that typically inhibit a Dodily
organ or part called a flora.
MICROBES
A single microorganism.
of this notion of space and
think we're not alone in this
universe,” Izzo said. “The
realit> is we’re not even alone
in our own body.”
Izzo, whose own research
specializes in microbial ecology
and how it impacts the health of
plants, sees the opportunity for
parallel growth in the field.
“The statistic is that 99
percent of what exists we can’t
even culture,” Izzo said. “In the
past, we have always collected
information via cultivation
(evaluating an individual
bacteria strain that has been
grown in a laboratory) ... it’s a
challenge.”
To combat this problem,
researchers have developed
the metagenomic approach.
This is a form of genetic
material analysis derived from
naturally harvested complete
microbial communities. This
approach, when complemented
with the analysis of known
isolated strains, aims to make
unprecedented growth in
fi
LINDSAY FEh^DT | Staff Photographer
Biology professor Antonio izzo, left, assists freshman Lauren Schilke and her lab group with their experiment.
understanding the complexity
of the human microbial
communities. Researchers hope
it will provide insight into how
microbiomes actually exist in
the environment and how such
interactions can impact human
health.
Inidentifying characteristics
of microbiomes, scientists are
able to fully understand the
similarity of sequence and
the better grasp role of these
particular microbiomes.
“You're looking at a two fold
question here: Who are (these
microbiomes) and what are
they doing?” Izzo said. “You
might not universally explain
the differences between types
that emerge, but it definitely
explains the potential to
understand how patterns
emerge."
Though the Human
Microbiome Project is years
away from producing this
kind of data, the potential for
understanding and growth
within microbiology and
microgenetics is rich.
“W'e like to think of
everything that’s microscopic as
bad, but the more we learn, the
more we realize that they're the
exception to the rule,” Izzo said.
“It's not just us by ourselves —
we're in an intimate relation
with the world around.
E-patients turn to Internet for checkups,
seek more self-help medical databases
Hannah Williams
Senior Reporter
Sixty-one percent of .American
adults seek health information online,
according to a December 2008 Pew
Internet and .American Life Project
survey, up from 23 percent in a similar
study in 2000.
“Searching online shouldn't be a
substitute (for health care),” said Elon
Director of Health Services kitty Parrish.
“It should just be an enlightenment.”
The Pew surve> asked participants
to identify their behaviors concerning
health topics ranging from information
about a specific disease, a certain
treatment, alternative medicine, health
insurance, doctors, hospitals and wa>s
to sta> healthy and termed those who
search for health information online
“e-patients.”
“I’m usually trying to self-diagnose,”
said senior biology major Lisa Bodine.
“Or I’m looking up information about
diseases that sound interesting or
unusual."
While many people are turning to
the Internet, 86 percent of all adults
surveyed said they still turn to health
professionals for information and
assistance in dealing with health or
medical issues, according to the study.
It also reported younger and more
educated adults were more likely to
use the Internet for health-related
queries than older and less educated
individuals.
Bodine said Googling health queries
and scanning the results for legitimate
information is faster and more efficient
than contacting her doctor in Maryland.
She named PubMed, the U.S. National
Institutes of Health’s free digital archive
of biomedical and life sciences journal
literature, as one of her trusted sources.
THE REBUTTLE TO THE E-PATIENT
TOP REASONS FOR GOING TO THE DOCTOR IN 2008
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70 MILLION
“I can get an immediate answer
online," Bodine said. “I don’t really know
my doctor, and I don’t ha\e my own
medical books."
•Asking friends and family was
survey respondents’ second most
popular source for health information
and assistance, with the Internet and
print media tied for third.
“People are better consumers now'
and want to have a lot of information,”
Parrish said.
She said the Internet was a good
source for patients who have been
diagnosed by a medical practitioner
and want more information about their
diagnosis.
“You just have to be careful about
believing every thing you read,” Parrish
said.
Sixty percent of e-patients said
they or someone they know have been
helped by following medical advice or
health information found online, while
3 percent said it was harmful, according
to the Pew survey.
Parrish said the sites offering health
information are often incomplete and
unverified and warned against using the
Web as a diagnostic tool.
“There are so many things with
similar symptoms: the symptoms of
a cold, the symptoms of the flu, the
symptoms of something far more
serious,” she said. “The danger would be
ignoring something that is much more
serious than you thought it was from
looking online.”
Bodine said she is likely to seek
medical attention if her symptoms
matched a serious illness or persisted
longer than usual. She said she monitors
her health fairly well.
“When I know I need medicine or
when I’m confused I’ll seek professional
help,” Bodine said.
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