National Microbiome Initiative To Harness Microbes For Health, Environment (wtop.com) 24
An anonymous reader quotes a report from WTOP: The National Microbiome Initiative being announced by White House science officials Friday aims to bring together scientists who study the microbes that live in the human gut and in the oceans, in farm soil and in hospitals -- to speed discoveries that could bring big payoffs. Consider: Taking antibiotics alters the diversity of your gut bacteria, which eventually settle into a new normal. The 2010 oil spill altered microbes in the Gulf of Mexico, which likewise settled into a new normal, said Dr. Jo Handelsman, associate director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Despite the parallels, "we have no idea if that's a healthier norm or a less healthy norm than before, and no idea how to fix it," said Handelsman, who led development of the initiative. The U.S. government spends about $300 million a year on microbiome research, until now mostly an effort to catalog different communities of bacteria, viruses and other microbes, Handelsman said. The National Microbiome Initiative will add $121 million this year and next for ecosystem-crossing federal research. And in partnership with the government, dozens of universities, foundations and other organizations are announcing more than $400 million in additional microbiome research investments, she said. The ultimate goal is to control and alter microbes to improve either human or environmental health. One of the most recent discoveries was of a gut microbe that completely lacks mitochondria.
Post-modern America (Score:3, Interesting)
Is there anything that someone can't find a reason to throw 9+-digit sums of taxpayer money at?
Seriously, I'm asking: when your country is $19 trillion in debt and spending 2/3 more than you take in, is it really a great idea to spend money on every shiny new thing you see?
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The way the money system works: YES.
The only way to create money is by loaning in into existence (I know this phrase makes no sense, but it is still how the money system works). Off course, this loan has to be paid back with usury (for which the money was never created), so the debt only grows. The only way to be able to pay the usury is to loan more and ... pay more usury!
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Waste (Score:4, Interesting)
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small is beautiful (Score:3)
Many of us here at /. were around for the beginning of the 'computer revolution'. I mark it that way because the term seems quaint now as we have also been through an 'internet revolution'. These have been exciting times and there is still a chance of some amazing digital discoveries as the dust settles.
But the revolution in bioscience is just beginning. It will be bigger and more important to the lives of people than anything in the past. The extension of interest to tiny elements of life is as important to bioscience as the interest in sub-atomic particles is to physics. Until we fully understand the Legos, the basic building blocks of our universe, we will meander aimlessly in our grasp of Life, the Universe and Everything.
I live a mile from the most famous zoo on earth. We have lions, tigers and bears to amuse the unwashed masses. It takes some mental sophistication to realize that microscopic life forms are far more important to us than these large carnivores.
This little-explored area (Score:4, Insightful)
is one of the most significantly remaining to do really productive biology, it is about time.
NBAF (Score:1)
Pity the lack of any curiosity (Score:3)
When c-diff infections become more widespread, I'm guessing this topic will get greater attention. With increasingly absurd amounts of antibiotics entering the food chain leading to epidemic levels of obesity, MRSA, and other resistant bacteria, it might be time to get to know better what microorganisms our bodies are hosting.