 The article linked here was published last week out of the University of Virginia and alludes to the challenges faced by the sheer magnitude of data--and nearly infinite interactions--that must be assessed and considered when trying to understand the human microbiome. Good job UVA, and kudos to Dr. Papin and Mr. Medlock for "taking a step back." This may be an example of "one step back and two steps forward"!
Onward! Jimmy
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Membership in halfhuman.org affords the opportunity to identify the specific microorganisms inhabiting your own body. While our understanding of what this information means and how it can be used is in its infancy, it obviously provides a source of great personal information. How are we as individuals different, and why? Perhaps less obvious, however, is the "greater good." The members of halfhuman.org have the opportunity to contribute to the collective fund of knowledge which may ultimately lead to unimaginable breakthroughs in the human condition. How cool (and rare) is that?!
Additionally, in cooperation with GI Associates, the largest gastroenterology medical practice in Mississippi (and one of the largest in the South), halfhuman.org will help streamline, coordinate, and study the fecal transplant programs in local hospitals. The triumphant publication of the human genome sequence was subsequently deemed by some as incomplete until the interactions between humans and their resident microbes are understood. This process will occupy thousands of geneticists, microbiologists, physicians, mathematicians, computer programmers, and social scientists for the rest of this century, and halfhuman.org is finding its place among them. Our journey has begun. Join us! Jimmy October 10, 2018 |
AuthorJimmy Underwood is named after his grandfather, to whom this blog is dedicated. Archives
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