Purpose of Appendix Believed Found

CambodiaSam sent in this story, which opens: "Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut. That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week. For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them. The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system, according to the study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food. But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case."

Comments

Polio, Asthma & Allergies

[eldavojohn]

I have studied little biology or medical subjects though I've read studies about this same sort of thing happening with asthma, polio & allergies. I think I've posted about this before but anecdotally I noticed there were no farmers who had allergies or asthma as I grew up and worked on farms with them. The young kids would play in hay and run around in the mud outside when it rained. So it seems that a problem with being an overly hygienic society today (as the article notes) is that we don't expose our young to these pathogens early on so they never adapt to them and suffer exposure to them later. This is why I recommend against anyone installing an air purifier in their home. It's a great idea--if you never plan on leaving your home.

I can't find the research but I thought a long time ago that a German study was done to find out why polio was "a middle class disease." If I recall they found that poor children were exposed to it since birth and rarely suffered from it since they were exposed to it always. The middle class children would be protected as infants but once exposed to it, their bodies would not be able to fight it. The upper class would take all costs to reduce exposure to it at all times--and they could.

Now this research is interestingly related in that appendicitis may be something that occurs due to our lack of exposure to diseases that destroy all the germs in our body (cholera & certain types of dysentery). Should something happen that would threaten this, our bodies respond poorly to it and the appendix flares up. As this article notes, appendicitis occurs less frequently in underdeveloped countries. Perhaps this is more reinforcement for the idea that protecting your children from germs is a double edged sword.

Re:Polio, Asthma & Allergies

[king-manic]

I have studied little biology or medical subjects though I've read studies about this same sort of thing happening with asthma, polio & allergies. I think I've posted about this before but anecdotally I noticed there were no farmers who had allergies or asthma as I grew up and worked on farms with them. The young kids would play in hay and run around in the mud outside when it rained. So it seems that a problem with being an overly hygienic society today (as the article notes) is that we don't expose our young to these pathogens early on so they never adapt to them and suffer exposure to them later. This is why I recommend against anyone installing an air purifier in their home. It's a great idea--if you never plan on leaving your home.

I can't find the research but I thought a long time ago that a German study was done to find out why polio was "a middle class disease." If I recall they found that poor children were exposed to it since birth and rarely suffered from it since they were exposed to it always. The middle class children would be protected as infants but once exposed to it, their bodies would not be able to fight it. The upper class would take all costs to reduce exposure to it at all times--and they could.

Now this research is interestingly related in that appendicitis may be something that occurs due to our lack of exposure to diseases that destroy all the germs in our body (cholera & certain types of dysentery). Should something happen that would threaten this, our bodies respond poorly to it and the appendix flares up. As this article notes, appendicitis occurs less frequently in underdeveloped countries. Perhaps this is more reinforcement for the idea that protecting your children from germs is a double edged sword.

The other way to interpret it is that people with severe allergies and who would suffer from polio are exposed to it early and die. As most of the groups outlined have higher infant mortality. It may not be a full explanation but it's certainly a contributing factor. From a evolutionary standpoint those who would have died from allergies/polio/germs due to a weaker system survive in "middle class" society and thus what is rare among the lower class amplifies overtime in the middle class until it reaches soem steady state %.