Since this is the first post on this site, I would like to warmly welcome everyone to Science and the Public Intellectual with a post that will help give everyone a feel for how most posts will be.

When most hear words such as “bacteria” or “microbiome”, they feel dirty and disgusted. Every form of influence from the internet to even kindergarten teachers are heard preaching how bad germs, bacteria, and the like are bad for you. But, what if I were to tell you that it is a complex composition of bacteria and other microorganisms that is keeping you from getting sick & helping you digest every bit of delectable food that you consume. Sure, there are ones that will hurt you, but there are many other microorganisms that work to help you.

To give some background, your body relies on a number of micro-organisms, coming together to form your microbiome, to digest the foods you eat everyday. We can only have yogurt because your body contains a bacteria known as Lactobacillus that helps our bodies digest it and other dairy products.

In the article, “US Immigration Westernizes the Human Gut Microbiome”, it is stated that:

“Migration from a non-Western country to the United States is associated with immediate loss of gut microbiome diversity… in which US-associated strains… displace native strains and functions.”

For those who blanked at the sight of scientific jargon, this study highlights an ongoing phenomena where immigrants from non-Western countries have been biologically changed by the environments they have come into. And this is due to the human body’s desire to only make use of what will help it survive in the present. When these immigrants, whose bodies have designed themselves and their microbiomes to digest their local & cultural foods, come to the US, their new diets here only allow for the growth of local bacteria. The bacteria that helped them digest the foods and deal with the environment in their homelands have been dying off as a result.

This matters because the death of the micro organisms from their homelands also means the death of another part of the cultural identity that they brought with them. The study also showed that when they went back to consuming their ethnic foods, their bodies were less able to digest them as well, as the micro organisms that used to do that weren’t nearly as available in them. In a way, they had biologically become more American.

Sources & Related Articles:

1. Episode “Wherever My Microbiome May Roam” of the Science Friday Podcast: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/wherever-my-microbiome-may-roam/
2. Research Article: Vangay, P. et al. US Immigration Westernizes the Human Gut Microbiome. Cell 175, 962972.e10 (2018)