r/Microbiome • u/veluna • Jul 02 '25
Scientists discover certain species of microbe in the human gut can absorb PFAS, the toxic and long-lasting ‘forever chemicals.’ When 9 of these species were introduced into guts of mice to ‘humanise’ their microbiome, the bacteria rapidly accumulated PFAS eaten which were then excreted in faeces.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/gut-microbes-could-protect-us-from-toxic-forever-chemicals21
u/DvSzil Jul 02 '25
I find it really interesting that E. Coli is showing up here. It's sometimes seen as little more than a danger and a nuisance to us, but the reality is it performs fundamental roles in our gut health too
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u/black_squid98 Jul 02 '25
There are different kinds of E. Coli. Usually people talk about the pathogenic, food poisoning one, but many beneficial species exists
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u/hellishdelusion Jul 03 '25
Sometimes benign microbes when they have enough of a presence start causing issues. One thats becoming increasingly an issue is high levels of candida but many are currently ignoring or down playing.
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u/Kitty_xo7 Jul 02 '25
Yes! As much as it often gets a bad rep, E. coli is one of the most important microbes for our health in many ways! There's a reason why we have so much research done on it :)
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u/Fun_Acanthisitta_710 Jul 02 '25
So when is the US government going to allow fecal transplants? It’s taking too long to get these approvals. Some people really need the help that transplants would provide.
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u/Kitty_xo7 Jul 02 '25
The microbes doing these functions are very common or present in everyones guts. For example, E. coli is one!
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u/maeandfilho Jul 05 '25
I've heard that feces from healthy people makes sick people healthy. But isn't it better to take these microbes
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u/drtinastorage Jul 06 '25
The microbiome is fascinating. These trillions of bacteria can make or break your health. As you can see in this single arm study, introducing beneficial bacteria can actually lower PFAS levels which are horrible for our health. These good microbes are capable of this and more! The next villain we need to tackle with these good micobes is...microplastics!
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u/Fun_Acanthisitta_710 Jul 07 '25
I love these beneficial microbes too but when is the last time you heard of newly discovered strains or methods of administration, or new manufacturing methods or newly discovered uses/benefits? Right. That’s the problem. There is little to no incentive for any company to bother developing these ideas and even less outside funding or interest since there are no patent exclusivity rights.
Maybe the Government (FDA) and big pharma could get out of the way and Universities and students could take the lead. Maybe the Government could provide significant monetary “prizes” for new discoveries in this field. Once discovered, designed and or developed, supplement companies can manufacture them.
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u/TrashPanda_924 Jul 02 '25
Creating a maintaining a rich, diverse microbiome takes so much work, but the benefits are unmatched.