Gut microbes followed migrating humans across continents, new study suggests

THIS IS GOING TO BE EVERYWHERE TOMORROW AND I LITERALLY PUT MY DRINK DOWN BECAUSE SOME NEW RESEARCH SAYS GUT MICROBES LITERALLY TRAVELED WITH HUMANS AS WE SPREAD ACROSS CONTINENTS WHICH IS WILD BECAUSE THEY COMPARED HUNTER-GATHERERS IN TANZANIA TO HORTICULTURALISTS IN BOLIVIA AND FOUND SURPRISING SIMILARITIES IN THEIR GUT MICROBIOMES SO NOW SCIENTISTS ARE ASKING WHAT EXACTLY THESE BACTERIA ARE DOING FOR OUR HEALTH SINCE THEY WERE APPARENTLY TAGGING ALONG THIS WHOLE TIME LIKE SOME MICROSCOPIC SIDEKICK WE DID NOT EVEN KNOW WE HAD SO NOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT PART THESE LITTLE GUYS PLAY IN KEEPING US ALIVE AND FUNCTIONING AS A SPECIES SORRY I TALKED FOR THAT LONG, THE SONG IS GOOD THOUGH.

SO THE OFFICIAL VERSION IS THIS RESEARCHERS ARE LOOKING AT HOW OUR ANCIENT GUT BACTERIA MIGHT HAVE MIGRATED RIGHT ALONG WITH US ACROSS THE ENTIRE PLANET AND IT IS BLOWING MY MIND BECAUSE THEY ARE COMPARING TRIBES IN TANZANIA WITH FOLKS IN BOLIVIA AND FINDING THESE CRAZY SIMILARITIES IN THEIR SYSTEMS, WHICH IS WILD BECAUSE IT IMPLIES THESE BACTERIA ARE OLDER TRAVEL COMPANIONS THAN WE REALIZED AND NOW THE BIG QUESTION IS WHAT ROLE THEY PLAY IN OUR ACTUAL HEALTH SO THE SCIENTISTS ARE DIVING DEEP INTO THAT CONNECTION RIGHT NOW TO SEE HOW THESE TINY ORGANISMS EVOLVED ALONGSIDE HUMANITY AS WE SPREAD OUT ACROSS EVERY CONTINENT AND CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER ANYWAY WHAT ARE YOU DOING LATER?

New research published by NPR suggests that human gut microbiomes may have evolved alongside migrating humans, based on similarities found between groups in Tanzania and Bolivia.

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