Hunter-Gatherer - Bacteria

More reasons to date paleo

John — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:39:58 +0000

From the NYT:

Just as a cold virus can be passed from one person to the next, so can these cavity-causing bacteria. One of the most common is Streptococcus mutans. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to it, and studies have shown that most pick it up from their caregivers — for example, when a mother tastes a child’s food to make sure it’s not too hot, said Dr. Margaret Mitchell, a cosmetic dentist in Chicago.

A number of studies have also shown that transmission can occur between couples, too. Dr. Mitchell has seen it in her own practice.

“In one instance, a patient in her 40s who had never had a cavity suddenly developed two cavities and was starting to get some gum disease,” she said. She learned the woman had started dating a man who hadn’t been to a dentist in 18 years and had gum disease.

Ah hah! Another theory for how I got that incipient cavity.

Natural bacteria are cleaning up the BP oil spill

John — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:15:35 +0000

The BP oil spill is dissipating faster than expected. Why? One reason is bacteria. From today's NYT:

"Scientists said the rapid dissipation of the surface oil was probably due to a combination of factors. The gulf has an immense natural capacity to break down oil, which leaks into it at a steady rate from thousands of natural seeps. Though none of the seeps is anywhere near the size of the Deepwater Horizon leak, they do mean that the gulf is swarming with bacteria that can eat oil."

When I attended Jackson Landers' deer hunting seminar earlier this year (see here and here), we learned how deer can't immediately eat as much as they want of a new food supply (say, acorns) -- it can take a few days to grow the required bacteria in their stomachs.

Makes you wonder about all the beneficial bacteria we kill off with the overuse of antibiotics.