Big-data research on gut microbes shows promising results for treating obesity, allergies, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses, a Taichung-based doctor said on Saturday at an event to inaugurate the Taiwan Microbiota Consortium.
Microbes inhabiting the digestive tract have a significant affect on digestive, metabolic and autoimmune disorders, said Wu Chun-ying (吳俊穎), doctor of gastroenterology and hepatology at Taichung Veterans General Hospital and the consortium’s president.
Microbes extracted from feces could be administered by pills or suppositories to change a patient’s gut flora to treat ailments, he said citing an international study, adding that doctors in the US has been treating pseudomembranous enteritis using this method.
Wu said the gut microbiota of laboratory mice and humans share a 90 percent similarity, adding that he successfully introduced microbes to mice that maintained their weight, despite them consuming normal portions and being prevented from exercise.
Mice undergoing the procedure had lower rates of diabetes and normal levels of blood lipids, blood sugar and liver function, he said, adding that human clinical trials were conducted in 2015.
Researchers used to focus on a single microbe species, but analyses aided by information technology have enabled mass research of thousands of microbial species at a time, Wu said.
Recent studies revealed that gut microbes play a surprisingly important role in many diseases and disorders that range from obesity, allergies, cancer, depression, Parkinson’s disease and autism, he said.
Gut microbes are being researched in the US, Japan and Western Europe, and human clinical trials have begun in many nations, Wu said, calling on the government to promote research in the field.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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