Probiotics are trending. How do I know?
New Yorker magazine assigned staff writer Michael Specter to the case. His Germs Are Us article paints a pretty picture of the future for probiotics.
Specter begins with a well-known pathogen, Heliobacter pylori or H.pylori, most associated with stomach ulcers. He visits Martin J. Blaser, microbiologist at New York University School of Medicine who shares his passion for the organism. In some countries, the vilified bacterium has been nearly obliterated. But Blaser warns that there could be repercussions: metabolic changes which could lead to asthma and obesity among others.
The author veers off into the better-behaved microbial world. He maps the various research projects which are uncovering genomes as well as locations and purposes of the microbes. He describes the germophobia rampant in the United States where even Disney offers its own brand of hand wipes.
Read the article. Specter plumbs the bacterial world in the inimitable meandering elegance of the New Yorker magazine.We always knew probiotics were smooth operators, but this confirms it.