Submitted via IRC for Bytram
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.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @12:53PM (1 child)
That's quite a leap they've taken there. Perhaps these three species eat similar foods that contain these megaphages?
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday February 03 2019, @05:55PM
Well, he did say "perhaps".
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday February 03 2019, @01:41PM (1 child)
Burger King is a believer in whopping big things. They have been leading the whopping big sciences since 1953.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @02:01PM
it almost sounds like the headline and article are spinning that eating a non-traditional western diet of McDonald's and apple pie made with good-from-the-ground coal tar derived seasonings are more healthy than those backwards hippies that eat like animals rather than eating the animals.
and yes its true: that burger king leads in whopposity.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @06:30PM
no. no. no. phages (disease of bacteria, the open-source version of anti-biotics) have no agenda:
they don't watch pr0n and they don't tell tales on their friends to get the same girl. (they also don't makes contracts!).
phages are virus.
OOOOHHH VIRUSES! THAT's bad!
sorry, snowflake, you are not the only snowflake and the virus called "phage" has no interest in YOU.
virus are a cutting edge of nature where excess multiplication without variation-pressure SPONTANEOUSLY (*) evolves a de-evolution ... or sumething : )
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assume i am wrong: there would exit a plethora of .. everything. nothing would die. without viruses you die because you are eaten, but if you are smart you become part of the new, like mitochondria are tiny worms living in each eucaritic cell (firewall around core-dna) or you are locked in a endless war against securing resources.
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viruses cannot be ANY shape or size. nature, dare i say quantum mechanics (lol) sets limits. thus viruses evolve spontaneously, like the cars that people invest in and drive and that keep killing them in a polluted city. : )
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the matter, that the viruses )without agenda) are starting to get "whopping big" might point to a really really messed up planet -or- a vaccine for "everything(**)" and that life is ready to pollinate other worlds.
(*) there's no theory that there's a "field" permeating the universe for life and its shedding (shed your snake skill .. eerr .. sKin) .
(**) on this planet. bring your cure along: if we don't meet anything crazy stupid out there, home will cure you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @07:43PM (2 children)
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. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @08:26PM (1 child)
"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.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @09:45PM
Unless you really believe *and* can prove, that hunters-gatherers eat their meats degreased. ROFL