Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Global Warming Kills Gut Bacteria

 ... in lizards.

You know who else relies on gut bacteria?  Humans.

Well, there's a whole new thing to freak the fuck out over.
Tags: environment, nature, news, safety, science, wildlife
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  • 4 comments
rhodielady_47

rhodielady_47

March 17 2019, 10:56:49 UTC 2 years ago

Hmmm....maybe in cold-blooded lizards but not in mammals.

After all, human guts remain the same temperature year round.
The micro-ecosystem inside our guts does vary depending upon the mix of foods we eat and the chemicals in that food.

Something else to consider--I think they are reporting the results of the experiment too quickly.
Sure, the gut bacteria did take a hard knock in a too warm environment up front but--
I'd like to see how those bacteria adapt over the course of a few years.
I'd be very surprised to discover that the bacteria didn't adapt to the warmer conditions given enough time to do so.
:^)
Oh yes--one thing we need to keep in mind is that Earth wobbles along on her axis like a drunken sailor. Earth regularly experiences mini-warmup's and mini-ice ages because of it.
:^}


ysabetwordsmith

Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

March 17 2019, 18:13:14 UTC 2 years ago

>>After all, human guts remain the same temperature year round.<<

IF the human lives in clement conditions or has the means to compensate for harsh ones.

This map indicates that many people are living in areas which will exceed the human heat tolerance. Now, that's a map for dropping dead of heatstroke or closely related causes as the body's core temperature rises beyond survivability. Before that happens, high temperatures may cause smaller increases that damage the body's ecosystem, leading to death from other proximate causes for which the distal cause is still high heat. I think an interesting avenue of approach would be to look for deaths and serious illnesses in a range of time before and after a major heat wave, to see if there is a spike in cases related to digestive issues.
rhodielady_47

Re: Thoughts

rhodielady_47

March 17 2019, 21:23:26 UTC 2 years ago

"I think an interesting avenue of approach would be to look for deaths and serious illnesses in a range of time before and after a major heat wave, to see if there is a spike in cases related to digestive issues."
And that makes excellent sense.
:^)
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

March 17 2019, 22:55:46 UTC 2 years ago

Another thing that wouldn't even require waiting for a deadly heat wave would be to examine the gut bacteria of different populations. I expect they may be different in general, but it would be particularly interesting to explore whether 1) people in hotter regions have lower diversity, and 2) if that correlates with a higher rate of digestive issues.