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Whopping Big Viruses Prey on Human Gut Bacteria

posted by mrpg on Sunday February 03 2019, @10:08AM   
from the ohoh dept.

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Whopping big viruses prey on human gut bacteria: Largest phages ever found in humans target bacteria associated with hunter-gatherer diets

Some of the largest of these so-called bacteriophages have now been found in the human gut, where they periodically devastate bacteria just as seasonal outbreaks of flu lay humans low, according to a new study led by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

These "megaphages" -- which have genomes about 10 times larger than the average phage and twice as big as any phage previously found in humans -- were found in the human intestinal tract, but only from humans who eat a non-Western, high-fiber, low-fat diet.

Tellingly, they were also found in the guts of baboons and a pig, demonstrating that phages -- which can carry genes that affect human health -- can move between humans and animals and perhaps carry disease.

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Original Submission

• "Hunter-gatherer diet" isn't "Hunter-gatherer diet" isn't (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @07:43PM (2 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @07:43PM (#795785)

  And definitely, a "high-fiber, low-fat" is nothing like the real deal:
  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-gatherer-really-eat/ [scientificamerican.com]
  https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/media/inline/paleo-diet-half-baked_3.jpg [scientificamerican.com]

  Let us call it a "baboon-pig diet" as quadrillions of megaphages cannot be wrong. :)

• Re:"Hunter-gatherer diet" isn't Re:"Hunter-gatherer diet" isn't (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @08:26PM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @08:26PM (#795809)

  "Yeah, the paleo peeps definitely ate french fries and drank soda pop. Becuz why not?!..."

  Of course the prehistoric diets will vary greatly depending when and where you are, that's kinda the point. And yes, you can survive some time even eating nothing but junk food however the point was to live as healhily as possible, remember?

  The article doesn't talk too much about fibers besides mentioning that unprocessed more natural food has more fiber than junk food. Doesn't say much about fat either.

  It's good to be sceptical but bad to be irrational.

  Parent

  • Nice parroting the party line, but fail at reading (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @09:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @09:45PM (#795832)

    Unless you really believe *and* can prove, that hunters-gatherers eat their meats degreased. ROFL

    Parent