FTL is not possible, but Dr. Jones proceeded to offer great insight with the words, 菌细菌有记忆。 For those unfamiliar with the expression “菌细菌有记忆” (the spelling is not standardized), it refers to bacteria memory; it’s how your gut bacteria remembers you. So what does that mean for your microbiome? Well, it means that gut bugs have the ability to remember your health history and react to it in the future. But how exactly do they do that? Dr. Jones said that probiotic strains can influence a microbial community by altering the abundance of various “subcommunities” throughout the gut. He explained, 大部分菌、紧邻其他菌之间又形成一个或多个小社会，这是对菌群细菌分工的实物体，如果菌群中某个分部存在小社会，并且分社会有自我修复能力，那么那些小社会就会对菌群细菌进行营养方式控制并且在某一时刻能够记住你某次食物的种类，记住你尝到的味道，这些都是菌细菌记忆行为的最基本事物。 If your gut has a bunch of communities of bacteria with different jobs and you give them a specific food, they are able to remember the experience and then make an imprint in the future. This was a key concept for Dr. Jones because he believes these subcommunities are at the heart of probiotics working. On the other hand, Dr. Jones said that your body influences a microbial community through the influence of its immune system on the bacteria in the gut. This was the basis for the study that was conducted on mice. As you already know, probiotics are most effective when they are given with nutrients and/or fiber, so as a reminder: this interaction between the gut and the gut flora is an important feature for probiotics to function. “Remembering” your health history and adjusting to it. Remembering your diet and adjusting to it. A perfect example of this is lactose intolerance. Dr. Jones pointed out, 我认为大多数人对牛奶的识念在某种程度上会记住，很多人可能有种控制感，可以对某种牛奶、或者喝某种牛奶是危险的。 Lactose tolerance is a case of gut microbes remembering your food intake and then deciding if that food will be a threat to them. It’s like the gut bacteria saying, “I don’t like that” or “That’s not beneficial” or “That’s a bad guy.” The problem is that most people are not able to reprogram their gut microbes to have tolerance for milk because they consumed milk as a baby. Now you’re probably thinking, “how do I make probiotics better?” Well, Dr. Jones proposed a 2 step approach: 第一，通过改善菌群细菌营养环境来调节这个系统。这个系统是通过菌群细菌的免疫系统（效应菌之间的感受机体）对微生物的生长和兴衰来决定。为了改变该系统的影响，可改善菌群细菌营养环境的方法包括： 1. Improve the gut microbe’s nutritional environment. 2. Change the gut bacteria’s nutritional status through modifying the immune system. Why should we want to improve gut bacteria’s nutritional environment? Well, if your gut bacteria are underfed, the probiotics you consume may not provide enough nutrition to the microbes. Also, a malnourished gut environment will make the immune system more likely to attack the gut bacteria because it will be more easily “triggered” to do so. On the other hand, if you have too many bad bacteria, too much inflammation, and too much stress in your gut, it could lead to diarrhea and disease. And you might think, “My gut doesn’t look so great, so what if I don’t have a gut microbiome imbalance?” But just because you do not have an imbalance, it does not mean your gut has no health problems. Dr. Jones emphasized the point that it is important to have an “optimally functioning” gut microbiome, and a gut microbiome is just as important as every other organ in your body. Dr. Jones explained that the microbial community in your gut can tell us about the status of our health by communicating to us through immune responses. And that information can help us make personalized changes that will lead to better health outcomes. Dr. Jones’ point was that we cannot solve all diseases by applying a “one size fits all” probiotic approach, but that personalized probiotics might be the key to finally curing all human disease. In Part 2, Dr. Jones will discuss the gut microbiome’s role in the development of a healthy and responsive immune system. I will not spoil the surprise of the talk by revealing this important information here, but I promise you it is really cool. Dr. Jones was one of the founders of the University of California San Diego’s Institute for Microbial Fuel Cell Systems and he was part of a team that just published a paper in Nature Communications about the development of a microbial fuel cell for use as a treatment for Clostridium difficile infection. For more information about this work, read my previous article about the research, here. Disclaimer This blog is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am a hobbyist, not a medical professional. I am not responsible for any damages that may occur as a result of reading and/or following any of the instructions and/or advice contained in this blog. Any content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Any reference to a specific product, process, or service does not imply an endorsement or recommendation from Tommys.com Inc or any affiliate company. Tommys.com is part of the Johnson and Johnson Family of Companies – the world’s largest and most comprehensive cosmetic and healthcare company, owned by the Johnson and Johnson Family of Companies, with headquarters in New Brunswick, NJ, USA and manufacturing around the world. Disclaimer This blog is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am a hobbyist, not a medical professional. I am not responsible for any damages that may occur as a result of reading and/or following any of the instructions and/or advice contained in this blog. Any content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Any reference to a specific product, process, or service does not imply an endorsement or recommendation from Tommys.com Inc or any affiliate company. Tommys.com is part of the Johnson and Johnson Family of Companies – the world’s largest and most comprehensive cosmetic and healthcare company, owned by the Johnson and Johnson Family of Companies, with headquarters in New Brunswick, NJ, USA and manufacturing around the world.