The Human Microbiome Project: Implications for Crohn's Disease.

A guest post from writer Alexis Bonari*, enjoy!

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), human microbial communities have a vast amount of influence on the way our bodies function, especially within the areas of development, physiology, immunity, and nutrition. Microbial cells outnumber human cells by a factor of ten to one, but these communities have been difficult to analyze because of the challenge presented by sustaining their environments in test tubes. However, with the development of metagenomics, these natural environments can be sustained long enough to enable scientists to analyze genetic material within its true microbial context.

Benefits of the Project

The NIH has developed the Human Microbiome Project in order to determine whether or not humans share a core, species-specific microbiome. It also aims to discover the relationship between changes in the human microbiome and changes in human health. These research goals have the potential to profoundly affect our microbiological understanding of human health, allowing scientists to broaden their perspectives on the body and its components. By analyzing microbial communities as part of the human body, project contributors hope to see developments in human immunity against diseases of the digestive tract, especially Crohnís disease.

Current and Future Progress

There are approximately 900 species of microbes found in the human body. Prior to the Human Microbiome Project, only 20 had been sequenced and analyzed. However, in May of this year, scientists published their findings on another 178 of these microbes, and they estimate that the remaining species will be analyzed within the next two years. Researchers hope that within the next 15 years, microbial balance will be a well-integrated diagnostic tool for doctors. The future may also hold artificially engineered microbes designed to perform as part of the immune system or digestive tract. For patients with Crohn’s disease and other chronic digestive conditions, this reinvention of microbiology may be life-changing.

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*Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She spends much of her days blogging about Education and College Scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Photo: Public domain courtesy of Wikimedia