City life is reshaping wildlife behavior around the world: Stealing sandwiches and sipping sodas

That is called symbioses of humans and wildlife, which is part of modern evolution! This symbioses has been going on already for several thousand of years since humans started to live in settlements.

Don't believe the alarmism and hysteria by researchers warning us here! Overblown concerns or bait for more research funding!

A related subject is non domestic animal population control in urban areas. E.g. there are probably way too many birds in the Phoenix metro area ,Arizona.

"... The urban monkeys in New Delhi are so bold they’ll steal the lunch right off your plate. 

If you’ve spent time in New York, you’ve probably seen squirrels try to do the same.

Sydney’s white ibises got the nickname “bin chickens” for stealing trash and sandwiches.

This brazen behavior isn’t normal for most species in the countryside, yet it shows up in urban wildlife, and not just in these cities. ...

Studies show that animals living in urban environments around the world exhibit common sets of behaviors. At the same time, these urban animals are losing traits they would need in the wild. This process of urban animals’ behavior becoming more similar is known as “behavioral homogenization,” and it accompanies the loss of species diversity with urbanization. ..."

From the abstract:

"A variety of human activities, especially urbanization, are not only homogenizing species composition but also eroding behavioral diversity. This Essay introduces the concept of behavioral homogenization: the human-driven convergence of behavioral traits across individuals, populations, and species across space and time. 

Global examples of fear responses, foraging, communication, activity patterns, social behavior, cognition and exploration, habitat use, breeding-site choice, migration, and heterospecific interaction networks are used to argue that spatial and temporal beta-diversity in behavior is shrinking in human-dominated landscapes.

Ecological and evolutionary consequences, including for animal cultures and human–wildlife conflict, are outlined and opportunities to quantify and integrate behavioral homogenization into biodiversity conservation and management are highlighted."

City animals act in the same brazen ways around the world "Researchers warn that as animals adapt to city life, they may be losing traits needed to survive in the wild [???]"

Behavioral convergence under urbanization: An overlooked dimension of biotic homogenization (open access)

What is not to like about Coca Cola? Caution: satire!

Fig 2. Schematic of urban-driven behavioral homogenization.

Study finds link between gut microbiome and the placenta in pregnant women

Amazing stuff!

"New research in mice shows that a species of gut bacteria, Bifidobacterium breve, regulates the placental production of hormones which are critical for healthy pregnancy.

Pregnant mice without B. breve in their guts were also found to experience a higher rate of complications and increased early foetal loss.

B. breve occurs naturally in the human and mouse gut microbiome and increases in late pregnancy in both species. But stress or obesity in pregnant [mice or women] can alter its abundance. ..."

"Pregnant women with plenty of 'good' gut bacteria may have stronger, healthier pregnancies, according to new research.  

For the first time, scientists have shown that beneficial bacteria helps regulate placental hormones essential for supporting a developing baby. ..."

From the abstract:

"Background

Recent studies have shown that the maternal gut microbiota can regulate placental growth, particularly the transport region, in association with fetal growth. However, the specific role of certain microorganisms in modulating the hormonal production of the placenta, which is critical for supporting fetal development and maintaining a healthy pregnancy, remains largely unexplored. In this context, the objective of this study is to determine whether the maternal colonisation with the early life gut bacterium Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 regulates placental endocrine function.

Methods

Pregnant germ-free mice were colonized with or without Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 (BIF) during pregnancy. The endocrine region of the placenta (junctional zone, Jz) was collected to assess its metabolic profile using metabolomics, the expression of key nutrient uptake genes, hormones and synthetic genes by qPCR, and proteome using LC-MS/MS.

Results

BIF colonised dams had increased lactate and taurine concentrations in the placental Jz. BIF presence was also associated with upregulated expression of nutrient carriers, particularly those involved in large neutral amino acid and monocarboxylate uptake (e.g., Slc7a8 and Slc16a4).

Additionally, key hormones, such as prolactins and pregnancy-specific glycoproteins, were upregulated. The Jz proteome was changed in BIF colonised dams, with over 400 proteins dysregulated. Pathway analysis revealed more than 150 biological processes were altered, including transcriptional activity, protein synthesis, cell cycle progression, and metabolic regulation. Proteins regulated by BIF in the placental Jz were correlated with fetal growth and nutrient levels (namely glucose). Notably, maternal-associated BIF reduced the number of fetal resorptions (early fetal loss).

Conclusions

In germ-free mice, maternal-associated gut Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 regulates placental endocrine capacity, by altering its metabolic profile and ability to produce endocrine factors. This study provides the first clear evidence that the maternal gut microbiota not only influences placental transport function, but also regulates its endocrine outputs."

Study finds link between gut microbiome and the placenta

‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy (original news release) "Cambridge scientists discover how probiotics may help prevent miscarriages, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia"

Placental endocrine function is controlled by maternal gut Bifidobacterium in germ-free mice (open access)

Fig. 1 Maternal B. breve supplementation induces changes in specific metabolites and nutrient carriers in the endocrine zone of the mouse placenta.

About the beneficial human fungal microbiome in the gut

Good news! Not to be confused with the more familiar bacterial microbiome!

"... In experiments in mice, a fungus that lives in our digestive system helped fend off non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Before the team could investigate how gut-dwelling fungi might be beneficial, they had to grow them—a notoriously tricky task. So they turned to FiChips, small devices that mimic the intestinal environment. That allowed them to culture 161 fungi from more than 2100 strains present in human fecal samples. And one—Fusarium foetens—popped up in gut microbiome datasets from around the world, suggesting it might be a symbiotic partner.

To test whether the fungus was actually helpful, the researchers fed mice a high-fat, choline-deficient diet, which gives the animals a liver condition similar to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). A single infusion of the animals’ digestive tracts with F. foetens notably reduced their symptoms, effects which largely stemmed from a single compound called FF-C1 produced by the fungus.

“The findings … point to the fungal microbiome as a rich, untapped source of compounds that may have therapeutic potential,” ..."

From the editor's summary and abstract:

"Editor’s summary

Although fungi are prevalent in the mammalian gut, remarkably little is understood about their role in host metabolic function and disease. Zhou et al. undertook a large-scale survey of fecal and environmental fungi in humans across China (see the Perspective by Hooper and Koh). They identified a filamentous fungus called Fusarium foetens that negatively associated with the human metabolic disease phenotype metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis. Experiments in mice using cultured isolates of this species revealed that it produced diverse metabolites, including a small naphthoquinone molecule that inhibited the mammalian enzyme ceramide synthase. The metabolite and the presence of the fungus reduced ceramide accumulation and alleviated fatty liver disease in mice. ...

Structured Abstract

INTRODUCTION

... Although fungi are increasingly recognized as important members of the gut community, the role of fungal symbionts in host health and diseases and the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unknown.  ...

RATIONALE

To identify the role of fungal gut symbionts, we developed a culture method based on in situ fecal environment incubation. We used this system to show that the filamentous fungi Fusarium spp. can acclimate to an anaerobic environment and establish stable colonization in mice. We discovered that this fungus was internationally ubiquitous in sequencing data of human feces. Hence, we investigated whether gut fungi play a role in host disease and particularly in metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) progression in mouse models.

RESULTS

We designed a fungal isolation chip (FiChip)–based optimized in situ cultivation system for gut fungi (FOCUS-G), which helps obtain more unartificial and uncultured fungi. Using FOCUS-G, we systematically isolated 2137 fungal strains from fecal samples of volunteers from five different geographical areas within China.

Using oxygen adaptability tests for gut fungal isolates, we characterized Fusarium spp. as a group of intestinal filamentous fungi that can acclimate to the anaerobic conditions that prevail in the colon.

An analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) data from global intestinal fungal studies confirmed that Fusarium foetens is commonly found in the gut of various human populations.

We showed that the colons of germ-free and specific pathogen–free mice could be colonized by F. foetens with a single oral gavage.

We found that F. foetens gavage improves MASH progression in mice by altering ceramide metabolism through the inhibition of CerS6, a key enzyme in the ceramide biosynthetic pathway. We validated the role of CerS6 in F. foetens–mediated amelioration of MASH in mice by intestinal-specific Cers6 deletion and overexpression.

We used chromatographic analyses to show that F. foetens produces a secondary metabolite, FF-C1, that inhibits CerS6 activity through direct, noncompetitive binding. We showed that FF-C1 improves MASH progression and disease outcome in Cers6fl/fl mice but not in Cers6ΔIE mice.

CONCLUSION

We developed a culture method based on in situ fecal environmental incubation and identified Fusarium spp. as a group of intestinal filamentous fungi that can acclimate to an anaerobic environment. F. foetens colonization reverses MASH progression in mouse models through a secondary metabolite FF-C1, which inhibits intestinal CerS6 to reduce serum levels of ceramides.

Collectively, our findings provide a deeper insight into the biology of host-commensal fungi interactions and indicate that a fungal secondary metabolite can influence clinically relevant host metabolic pathways, offering an investigative strategy for improving the therapeutic management of such diseases."

ScienceAdviser

A symbiotic filamentous gut fungus ameliorates MASH via a secondary metabolite–CerS6–ceramide axis (no public access)

Identification of gut fungi–mediated regulation of host metabolic disease.

Robotics and Paradise on Earth

A brief discourse in philosophy!

Perhaps never in human history has humanity been this close to the proverbial Paradise on earth. Unless, humanity self destructs, there is a good chance to get there within a foreseeable future (perhaps 20-50 years from now).

A significant decline in world population in coming decades is forecasted. The long time obsession with the so called replacement rate or fertility rate becomes obsolete.

The age of robotics is upon us. Robots will multiply.

Symbiosis of machine and humans. Machines become more human and vice versa. Anthropogenic evolution?

A better understanding of homing or finding a distinct niche by specific symbiotic gut bacteria

Amazing stuff!

"... However, the microbiome isn’t uniform throughout the gut. Just as various organs within the gastrointestinal system have different specialties when it comes to digesting food and absorbing nutrients, different microbial communities are localized within each zone and play unique roles there.

Successful colonization of each region of the G.I. tract by different microbial populations is dependent on a variety of factors such as nutrient requirements of the bacteria; the local pH and dissolved oxygen content; competition with other bacterial strains; and survivability in harsh conditions—including stomach acid, bile salts, and immune-response cells. ...

incredibly complex system of interconnected microbial communities, and each species needs to get to the right place where it can thrive and contribute to host health ...

Successful colonization hinges on proteins in bacterial cell walls called adhesins. As you might guess from their name, they can stick to a variety of different surfaces within the body. But they typically bind non-specifically, meaning they could just as soon attach to one tissue as another.

So how do symbiotic microbiome species get to the place they need to go? ...

developed technology that enabled them to watch a single cell of the bacterial species Lactiplantibacillus plantarum colonize its niche within the fruit fly gut in real time. ...

Watching the events unfold in such high-resolution detail enabled the scientists to see the difference between short-lived colonization and long-term success. ...

They found that L. plantarum isolated from the guts of wild fruit flies was able to stably attach to host tissue whereas L. plantarum from humans and other sources formed only transient attachments.

With this information in hand, the researchers set out to determine the genetic basis for this super-affinity. Through diligent and painstaking work, they were able to identify a set of genes for symbiotic gut colonization within a niche. ..."

From the perspective abstract:

"Lactiplantibacillus plantarum is a bacterium found in diverse environments, from fermented foods to plant and animal hosts. Many lactobacilli have been found to promote metabolic, immune, and musculoskeletal health in various animal hosts, including flies, fish, mice, and humans. 

This combination of habitat versatility and health-promoting properties has sparked interest in understanding how lactobacilli evolve to colonize new hosts and how these adaptations influence their health-promoting activities . ... report a plasmid-encoded sugar-binding adhesin used by an L. plantarum strain isolated from a wild fruit fly (LpWF) to colonize the foregut of its host. They show that related sugar-binding adhesins are widely conserved across host-associated bacteria, demonstrating how sugar structures can serve as footholds for both mutualists and pathogens when making a host a home."

From the editor' summary and abstract:

"Editor’s summary

The benign organisms constituting a microbiota have mechanisms for recognizing an appropriate host. Although homing into niches is better understood for pathogens than for quotidian commensals, Gutiérrez-García et al. looked for signs of “symbiosis” islands in the microbiome of the fruit fly gut  ... 

The authors used live imaging to track the specificity of niche localization of the commensal bacterium Lactiplantibacillus plantarum to the fly foregut during passage in vitro. They identified a linear plasmid with a gene cluster that they refer to as a colonization island that contained many open reading frames for serine-rich repeat protein adhesins and auxiliary genes. Colonization islands seem to be broadly conserved among gut Firmicute bacteria and indicate a common mechanism for niche recognition. ...

Abstract

Animals selectively acquire specific symbiotic gut bacteria from their environments that aid host fitness. To colonize, a symbiont must locate its niche and sustain growth within the gut. Adhesins are bacterial cell surface proteins that facilitate attachment to host tissues and are often virulence factors for opportunistic pathogens. However, the attachments are often transient and nonspecific, and additional mechanisms are required to sustain infection. In this work, we use live imaging of individual symbiotic bacterial cells colonizing the gut of living Drosophila melanogaster to show that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum specifically recognizes the fruit fly foregut as a distinct physical niche. L. plantarum establishes stably within its niche through host-specific adhesins encoded by genes carried on a colonization island. The adhesin binding domains are conserved throughout the Lactobacillales, and the island also encodes a secretion system widely conserved among commensal and pathogenic bacteria."

Engineering the gut microbiome just became a reality

Could we engineer stability in the microbiome? New research opens the door (original news release) "New research from Carnegie Science biologists opens could lead to the creation of probiotics that are optimized for specific niches in the human gut."

Home sweet home "Sugar-binding adhesins enable bacteria to persist in specific host niches"

A conserved bacterial genetic basis for commensal-host specificity

Lactobacillus, a beneficial bacterial species (magenta), attaches to specific regions (green) of the fruit fly gastrointestinal tract (white).

Lactobacillus, a beneficial bacterial species (red), has genes that enable it to attach to a specific region of the fruit fly gastrointestinal tract (blue/cyan).

Fourth time in nature organelle evolution has been identified in a marine alga

Amazing stuff!

"... Known as ‘primary endosymbiosis,’ this process has been foundational for complex organisms (like humans). It describes how a single-celled organism is engulfed by a larger, more complex eukaryotic cell and evolves into a functional organelle. ...

This new, fourth example of primary endosymbiosis is being called a ‘nitroplast’ and has been found within an algal species called Braarudosphaera bigelowii. It appears to have evolved just 100 million years ago.  ...

At the same time, UCYN-A appears to have discarded parts of its genome in order to take on proteins supplied by the algal host.

“That’s one of the hallmarks of something moving from an endosymbiont to an organelle,” ..."

"... The organelle also provides insight into ocean ecosystems. All organisms need nitrogen in a biologically usable form, and UCYN-A is globally important for its ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. Researchers have found it everywhere from the tropics to the Arctic Ocean, and it fixes a significant amount of nitrogen. ..."

"Eukaryotic cells are notably complex—for example, they have various organelles, which are membrane-bound structures with specific functions. Two of these organelles, mitochondria and chloroplasts, which function in respiration and photosynthesis, evolved from the integration of endosymbiotic bacteria to the eukaryotic cell. In marine systems, some nitrogen-fixing bacteria are endosymbionts of microalgae, such as Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa (UCYN-A), a cyanobacterial symbiont of the unicellular algae Braarudosphaera bigelowii. ... report a close integration of the endosymbiont into the architecture and function of the host cell, which is a characteristic of organelles. These findings show that UCYN-A has evolved from a symbiont to a eukaryotic organelle for nitrogen fixation—the nitroplast—thereby expanding a function that was thought to be exclusively carried out by prokaryotic cells to eukaryotes. ..."

From the editor's summary and abstract:

"Editor’s summary

Many partnerships have been formed between nitrogen-fixing microbes and carbon-fixing eukaryotes that need nitrogen to grow. The possibility of a eukaryote with a nitrogen-fixing organelle derived from endosymbiosis, which is called a nitroplast, has been speculated. Studying a marine alga with a cyanobacterial endosymbiont, Coale et al. used soft x-ray tomography to visualize cell morphology and division of the alga, revealing a coordinated cell cycle in which the endosymbiont divides and is split evenly, similar to the situation for plastids and mitochondria in these cells ... Proteomics revealed that a sizable fraction of the proteins in this structure are encoded by and imported from the alga, including many that are essential for biosynthesis, cell growth, and division. These results offer a fascinating view into the transition from an endosymbiont into a bona fide organelle. ...

Abstract

Symbiotic interactions were key to the evolution of chloroplast and mitochondria organelles, which mediate carbon and energy metabolism in eukaryotes. Biological nitrogen fixation, the reduction of abundant atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) to biologically available ammonia, is a key metabolic process performed exclusively by prokaryotes. Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa, or UCYN-A, is a metabolically streamlined N2-fixing cyanobacterium previously reported to be an endosymbiont of a marine unicellular alga. Here we show that UCYN-A has been tightly integrated into algal cell architecture and organellar division and that it imports proteins encoded by the algal genome. These are characteristics of organelles and show that UCYN-A has evolved beyond endosymbiosis and functions as an early evolutionary stage N2-fixing organelle, or “nitroplast.”"

Fourth time in nature organelle evolution has been identified Scientists have identified the fourth time that a rare, but crucial, biological process has occurred in nature – the formation of a tiny organelle in a eukaryotic cell.

Scientists discover first nitrogen-fixing organelle (original news release)

The nitroplast: A nitrogen-fixing organelle (no public access) A bacterial endosymbiont of marine algae evolved to an organelle

Nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga (no public access)

The new organelle, indicated by an arrow

A soft x-ray tomography image shows B. bigelowii cell division, with the nitroplasts (UCYN-A) in cyan.

Hunter-gatherer lifestyle fosters thriving gut microbiome in Tanzania

Amazing stuff! What is in your gut? This study seems to be an eye opener!

Notice: It took only about 9 years from taking the fecal samples in 2013/14 to publishing the results now. Perhaps, the hunter-gatherers from Tanzania could have done it faster. Pardon my facetiousness! 😊

"... Now, a team of researchers has sequenced gut microbiomes from Hadza people — members of a hunter-gatherer society in northern Tanzania — and compared them with those from people in Nepal and California. The study has found not only that the Hadza tend to have more gut microorganisms than people in the other groups, but that a Western lifestyle seems to diminish the diversity of gut populations.
The Hadza had an average of 730 species of gut microbe per person. The average Californian gut microbiome contained just 277 species, and the Nepali microbiomes fell in between. ...
Among the genome sequences recovered from the Hadza samples, more than 1,000 were from bacterial or archaeal species that are new to science.
Furthermore, gut-microbe species commonly found in industrialized populations often contained genes associated with responding to oxidative damage. The team suspects chronic inflammation in the gut could trigger such damage ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• The largest set of gut microbiome sequencing data from a hunter-gatherer population

• Assembly of thousands of novel human gut bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, and phages

• Identification of distinct functions in lifestyle-associated VANISH and BloSSUM taxa

• Extensive non-kin strain sharing associated with a unique Hadza social structure

Summary

The gut microbiome modulates immune and metabolic health. Human microbiome data are biased toward industrialized populations, limiting our understanding of non-industrialized microbiomes. Here, we performed ultra-deep metagenomic sequencing on 351 fecal samples from the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania and comparative populations in Nepal and California. We recovered 91,662 genomes of bacteria, archaea, bacteriophages, and eukaryotes, 44% of which are absent from existing unified datasets. We identified 124 gut-resident species vanishing in industrialized populations and highlighted distinct aspects of the Hadza gut microbiome related to in situ replication rates, signatures of selection, and strain sharing. Industrialized gut microbes were found to be enriched in genes associated with oxidative stress, possibly a result of microbiome adaptation to inflammatory processes. This unparalleled view of the Hadza gut microbiome provides a valuable resource, expands our understanding of microbes capable of colonizing the human gut, and clarifies the extensive perturbation induced by the industrialized lifestyle."

Hunter-gatherer lifestyle fosters thriving gut microbiome Samples from the Tanzanian Hadza group included species previously unknown to science.

Ultra-deep sequencing of Hadza hunter-gatherers recovers vanishing gut microbes (open access)

The Hadza people of Tanzania are among the last hunter-gatherer societies in Africa

Graphical abstract:

Figure 2. The Hadza gut microbiota contains substantial multi-domain novelty

More Unraveling of the bidirectional connections between the brain and gut with multifunctional microelectronic fibers

Amazing stuff! Very interesting work! This work may have huge potential!

"... designed a new technology for probing those connections. Using fibers embedded with a variety of sensors, as well as light sources for optogenetic stimulation, the researchers have shown that they can control neural circuits connecting the gut and the brain, in mice.
In a new study, the researchers demonstrated that they could induce feelings of fullness or reward-seeking behavior in mice by manipulating cells of the intestine. In future work, they hope to explore some of the correlations that have been observed between digestive health and neurological conditions such as autism and Parkinson’s disease. ...
More importantly, we have the ability to start accessing the crosstalk between the gut and the brain with the millisecond precision of optogenetics, and we can do it in behaving animals ...
The mechanical properties of the fibers can be tailored for use in different parts of the body. For the brain, the researchers created stiffer fibers that could be threaded deep into the brain. For digestive organs such as the intestine, they designed more delicate rubbery fibers that do not damage the lining of the organs but are still sturdy enough to withstand the harsh environment of the digestive tract. ...
The fibers are also designed so that they can be controlled wirelessly, using an external control circuit that can be temporarily affixed to the animal during an experiment. ...
First, they used the fibers to deliver optogenetic stimulation to a part of the brain called the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which releases dopamine. They placed mice in a cage with three chambers, and when the mice entered one particular chamber, the researchers activated the dopamine neurons. The resulting dopamine burst made the mice more likely to return to that chamber in search of the dopamine reward. ...
Next, ... the researchers found they could induce the same reward-seeking behavior by skipping the sucrose and optogenetically stimulating nerve endings in the gut that provide input to the vagus nerve, which controls digestion and other bodily functions. ...
fibers’ ability to control feeding behaviors. They found that the devices could optogenetically stimulate cells that produce cholecystokinin, a hormone that promotes satiety. When this hormone release was activated, the animals’ appetites were suppressed, even though they had been fasting for several hours. ..."

From the abstract:

"Progress in understanding brain–viscera interoceptive signaling is hindered by a dearth of implantable devices suitable for probing both brain and peripheral organ neurophysiology during behavior. Here we describe multifunctional neural interfaces that combine the scalability and mechanical versatility of thermally drawn polymer-based fibers with the sophistication of microelectronic chips for organs as diverse as the brain and the gut. Our approach uses meters-long continuous fibers that can integrate light sources, electrodes, thermal sensors and microfluidic channels in a miniature footprint. Paired with custom-fabricated control modules, the fibers wirelessly deliver light for optogenetics and transfer data for physiological recording. We validate this technology by modulating the mesolimbic reward pathway in the mouse brain. We then apply the fibers in the anatomically challenging intestinal lumen and demonstrate wireless control of sensory epithelial cells that guide feeding behaviors. Finally, we show that optogenetic stimulation of vagal afferents from the intestinal lumen is sufficient to evoke a reward phenotype in untethered mice."

Unraveling connections between the brain and gut | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT engineers’ new technology can probe the neural circuits that influence hunger, mood, and a variety of diseases.

Multifunctional microelectronic fibers enable wireless modulation of gut and brain neural circuits (open access)

Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of microelectronics-integrated multifunctional fibers that enable wireless modulation of brain and gut neural circuits.

Bacteria in the Lungs Can Regulate Autoimmunity in Rat Brains

Amazing stuff! More on the symbiosis between human and internal living bacteria (microbiome)!

"The community of microbes living on the folds of the lung’s alveoli doesn’t attract the same scientific fascination as its neighbor, the gut microbiome. But new research in rats suggests it exerts significant influence over the immune system, just like gut microbes can. ...
Scientists f... demonstrated that perturbing the rat lung microbiome—a bacterial community that was long thought to not exist—can regulate autoimmunity in the central nervous system. ... Specifically, the scientists found that certain microbial treatments could alter the behavior of microglial cells in the animals’ brains—cells that typically maintain the central nervous system by clearing dead or damaged cells—influencing the development of symptoms in a rat model of multiple sclerosis (MS). ..."

From the abstract:

"... Here we detected a tight interconnection between the lung microbiota and the immune reactivity of the brain. A dysregulation in the lung microbiome significantly influenced the susceptibility of rats to developing autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Shifting the microbiota towards lipopolysaccharide-enriched phyla by local treatment with neomycin induced a type-I-interferon-primed state in brain-resident microglial cells. Their responsiveness towards autoimmune-dominated stimulation by type II interferons was impaired, which led to decreased proinflammatory response, immune cell recruitment and clinical signs. ... Our data demonstrate the existence of a lung–brain axis in which the pulmonary microbiome regulates the immune reactivity of the central nervous tissue and thereby influences its susceptibility to autoimmune disease development."

Bacteria in the Lungs Can Regulate Autoimmunity in Rat Brains | The Scientist Magazine® Making specific alterations to the bacterial population in a rat’s lungs either better protects the animals against multiple sclerosis–like symptoms or makes them more vulnerable, a study finds—the first demonstration of a lung-brain axis.

The lung microbiome regulates brain autoimmunity (no public access, but the above article contains a link to the PDF file)

Schumpeter's Gale of Creative Destruction Again

Every the so often in human history major technological and economic changes transform our every day lives. The Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter poetically described it as the recurrent "Gale of Creative Destruction".

With AI, robotics, advances in medicine and so forth it will be no different.

We still do not have a crystal ball! Most computer models of complex systems are still quite unreliable as far as forecasts are concerned!
However, a few things come immediately to mind:

1. Will we have finally more leisure time, if we desire? What will we do with more leisure time?
2. Will human to human services become more relevant as robots etc. free us more from our daily chores etc.
3. Managing and maintenance of advanced technology will probably be more in demand
4. Which jobs will be the hardest to be replaced by robots?
5. Perhaps the most important question could AI overtake humans one day? I think a symbiosis is more likely.

P.S. There are some older blog posts of mine related to this subject like here and here.

Watch Out For The Robotides Or Modern Luddites Against Robots

Parade Of Horribles

I have been reading articles lately that suggest that the impending revolution of smart, save robots will displace human labor at an unprecedented large scale in business and at home.

Cassandra Vs. Luddites

Like so many Luddites of the past they will be proven wrong. Cassandras are few, Luddites are many. Cassandra was later murdered; Luddites go on to spread their views.

A New Symbiosis And A Revolution Of Relationships

Personal robots will make our lives so much better in so many ways. The thought of it is incredible. I wish, I was born in the future. Robots that will do all your daily chores, be your personal trainer, chef, masseuse, and so on.

We need large numbers of robots. How about a robot for everyone? Who will program them? Who will maintain them? Robots? Ultimately, it will be humans building new and better robots etc.

This will be the next major stage of human evolution. Going far beyond the limits of nature …