un/making straw research wall by https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy en-us 2018-05-14 08:05:11 UTC 2018-05-14 08:32:35 UTC hello@padlet.com Humans have been using “drinking tubes” for over 7,000 years. Mesopotamians used straws made of reeds or gold to filter beer, and the Chinese used tubes to sip on cloudy rice wine. In Egypt, one inscription shows that straws prevented the accidental slurping up of insects while drinking at night. http://blogs.worldwatch.org/plastic-straws-a-life-cycle/ kristina_lindstrom https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260367584 2018-05-14 08:13:13 UTC https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260367584 Human-associated microbial communities vary across individuals: possible contributing factors include (genetic) relatedness, diet, and age. However, our surroundings, including individuals with whom we interact, also likely shape our microbial communities. To quantify this microbial exchange, we surveyed fecal, oral, and skin microbiota from 60 families (spousal units with children, dogs, both, or neither). Household members, particularly couples, shared more of their microbiota than individuals from different households, with stronger effects of co-habitation on skin than oral or fecal microbiota. Dog ownership significantly increased the shared skin microbiota in cohabiting adults, and dog-owning adults shared more ‘skin’ microbiota with their own dogs than with other dogs. Although the degree to which these shared microbes have a true niche on the human body, vs transient detection after direct contact, is unknown, these results suggest that direct and frequent contact with our cohabitants may significantly shape the composition of our microbial communities.. kristina_lindstrom https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260371364 2018-05-14 08:30:24 UTC https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260371364 PlasticizersPlasticizers are chemicals that confer flexibility or rigidity to plastic products. These chemicals are highly prevalent in our environment and have a significant impact on gut bacteria. Bisphenol-A (BPA), found in plastic water bottles, receipts, and the lining of canned foods, alters the normal gut flora and disrupts the body’s hormonal system by mimicking the hormone estrogen. (6) While often marketed as safe alternatives to BPA, “BPA-free” plastic alternatives may be equally, if not more, harmful to our gut microbes. Bisphenol-S and bisphenol-F demonstrate endocrine-disrupting effects comparable to that of BPA. These adverse effects may extend to the gut microbiome. (7) Phthalates, another class of endocrine-disrupting plasticizers used as solvents in personal care products and vinyl plastic, also reduce levels of beneficial gut bacteria. (8)https://www.ascent2health.com/blog/are-environmental-toxins-disrupting-your-gut-bacteria kristina_lindstrom https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260371608 2018-05-14 08:31:25 UTC https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260371608 Plasticizers kristina_lindstrom https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260371696 Plasticizers are chemicals that confer flexibility or rigidity to plastic products. These chemicals are highly prevalent in our environment and have a significant impact on gut bacteria. Bisphenol-A (BPA), found in plastic water bottles, receipts, and the lining of canned foods, alters the normal gut flora and disrupts the body’s hormonal system by mimicking the hormone estrogen. (6) While often marketed as safe alternatives to BPA, “BPA-free” plastic alternatives may be equally, if not more, harmful to our gut microbes. Bisphenol-S and bisphenol-F demonstrate endocrine-disrupting effects comparable to that of BPA. These adverse effects may extend to the gut microbiome. (7) Phthalates, another class of endocrine-disrupting plasticizers used as solvents in personal care products and vinyl plastic, also reduce levels of beneficial gut bacteria. (8)

https://www.ascent2health.com/blog/are-environmental-toxins-disrupting-your-gut-bacteria]]> 2018-05-14 08:31:42 UTC https://padlet.com/kristina_lindstrom/igb55udk8zhy/wish/260371696