Month: March 2018

If I were the head of a funding agency, I will be most likely to award funding for researchers that are focusing on the control of inflammatory bowel disease using probiotic, prebiotics, and synbiotics. The reviews we have read in this term “Systematic revies of randomized controlled trials of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotic inflammatory bowel disease”.  briefly discussed many previous studies and the results of researchers using probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. However, different studies have shown to have different results; some of them are counteractive to each other. There are some suggestions that probiotic may be comparably beneficial to the standard therapy of IBD which is aminosalicylates. However, different scenarios of IBD requires different treatments and some of the cases, either probiotic, prebiotics, and synbiotics would help. A more narrative research should be performed to figure these out. The results of the experiment would be helpful and beneficial to the future health care.

Part One:

The human non-infectious diseases that I could think of that are influenced by microorganisms are:

• choric kidney disease
• GI disorder
• autoimmune disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Asthma
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Atherosclerosis
• Colon Cancer

Part Two:

Refer to first writing Excercise I did at the beginning of this term, I knew more information about microbes. I added more non-infectious diseases that I think are influenced by microorganisms because I have read more articles during the term, as well as understanding how those microbes could affect us. the most important topics I will take away with me once I have completed the course would be “Microbe and Cancer”, as well as the “Probiotic, Prebiotic, and symbiotic”. The first topic was the one that I was interested at the beginning of the terms, the second one was the one I like, I would never think of probiotic would be used as a treatment for IBD. During the course, I have understood how microbes play roles in human health, as well as how they interact with different systems inside of our bodies.

The five key questions that use interpreting scientific literature are:

• Can experiments detect differences that matter?: In the scientific community, published research is mainly focused on new discovery. So it is important to the experiments could detect and support the differences in the new studies.
• Does the study show causation or correlation?: When setting up the hypothesis, we always wanted to know what causes that the phenomenon. This is important in setting up the hypothesis.
• What is the mechanism?: Knowing the mechanisms of the new findings which also important in supporting the new findings.
• How much do experiments reflect reality?: The proposes of research studies are improving humans life and the science industries. This was also the intention of all research studies.
• Could anything else explain the results?: To avoid controversy,  previous studies and data are needed. These not only explains the results; they also have the huge impact in terms of supporting the studies.

To me, the question that would be helpful in discussing controversy is ” Could anything else explains the results?”. Overall, using previous studies as supports could help in reducing controversy.

As we know, the human gut microbiome is also considered as an “organ” since it actually interconected to different systems. Our gut microbes have significant influnences to our mental health; the gut microbes influnences the developments of many mental dieseases, such as depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, and schizophrenia. The gut microbes affect our brains by screcting substances like neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA; the microbes also release molecules which will change the neurochemistry. These can cause localized inflammation , whereby immune cell will also relase immune signals to the host for respones. Dysbiosis was one of the major effects that influnce mental health.

The communication of brain and gut microbes are bidirectional. Multiple studies show that brain could alter the release of hormones, which could affect the activities of microbes and what they release.

As a reviewer, reading someone’s article is a good way to get ideas, as well as improving my writing. However, I don’t feel well to critiques someone else writing since I do not consider myself as a good reviewer. I am not sure if my reviews would help, and I do not like to write bad comments. However, while reviewing other’s paper, I would also check if I have the same mistakes; what was the good part of the paper, if I could apply it to my own writing.

Peer Review is the process of writers making comments on each other’s written work in order to improve writing. It is an important process for science industry; it is designed to help increase the integrity of research paper being published. The Peer review process includes the submission of manuscripts, journal editor screens paper, and decide whether the manuscripts fit the journal. Once the manuscripts fit the philosophy of the journal, they will send the manuscripts to someone who previously published articles in the same field.  Reviews will send back the author eventually to revise the manuscripts.

Pros for peer review is getting professional commons from others, which help in improving the articles. Cons of peer review are some ideas of yours might not be expectable by others, and they will give you comment on that, hopefully, you will fix it.