The Biome Project, Or, Send Better Bugs

An obesity breakthrough, for fat mice anyway:

After weight-loss surgery, new gut bacteria keep obesity away

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The logic behind weight-loss surgery seems simple: rearrange the digestive tract so the stomach can hold less food and the food bypasses part of the small intestine, allowing fewer of a meal's calories to be absorbed. Bye-bye, obesity.

A study of lab mice, published on Wednesday, begs to differ. It concludes that one of the most common and effective forms of bariatric surgery, called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, melts away pounds not - or not only - by re-routing the digestive tract, as long thought, but by changing the bacteria in the gut.

Or, in non-scientific terms, the surgery somehow replaces fattening microbes with slimming ones.

If that occurs in people, too, then the same bacteria-changing legerdemain achieved by gastric bypass might be accomplished without putting obese patients under the knife in an expensive and risky operation.

If you can read this and not hear "Ka-ching", you have no future in Big Pharma or VC.

Comments

[Clarice]

Sign me up!

[henry]

Hence DuPont getting into nutrition... anti-obesity yogurt can't be too far away. (Yogurt is an excellent microbe delivery system).

[DrJ]

I suppose calling it a "shit transplant" would not sell well, even though this is being explored.

[Threadkiller]

Will the intestinal bypass, with its fancy new bacteria, allow the gluten weary to enjoy a deep dish pizza?

[NK]

This.. This.. is a plan.

[maryrose]

henry:
Can't wait for the Tuesday election results. I am thrilled Roggenburk{I think that is correct} has more money.
It always thrilling to beat the dems at their own game ,especially when they try to game the system in Racine and Milwaukee.
OT: from the other thread: Clooney highlights from the TV series "Facts of Life" or "ER" highlights ought to short circuit his Senate bid.
Now if we are talking Johnny Depp-that's a whole different story.Depp running could be deadly for us.
Colbert's sister is running ahead of Sanford in South Carolina. Uh-Oh. It helps to have a bro in the biz.

[Neo]

LOS ANGELES — An attorney says a disabled man was awarded $8,000 by Disneyland after the "It's A Small World" ride broke, stranding him for a half hour while the theme song played continuously.

[maryrose]

should be It's

[maryrose]

Neo:
That sounds like easy money to me. Who doesn't Love the song"It's a Small World After all"?

[daddy]

Reminds me of this:

Have people ever really eaten tapeworms for weight loss?

Opera singer Maria Callas was rumored to have used a tapeworm to achieve a remarkable loss of weight in the mid 1950s. She did, in fact, lose more than 60 pounds over several months. She was also known to have contracted a tapeworm at some point in her life. However, the two incidents are probably unconnected. Callas enjoyed rare steak, so she probably got her tapeworm accidentally. These two aspects of her life were jumbled into a persistent rumor.

[henry]

maryrose, note from the final SC debate. Fallone's donations from unions are highlighted. Club for Growth and AFP have ads out for Roggensack.

[RichatUF nee GMU]

"shit transplant"...lol.

[maryrose]

henry:
Roggensack looks like the likely winner. Here's hoping.
RichatUF nee GMU:
How is your class going? My husband said our final wasn't that bad and just understanding the Nash Equilibrium was a definite win for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and now know much more about Microeconomics.

[maryrose]

NKorea threatens US and Bammy goes on vacation
Benghazi Redux...

[narciso]

Speaking of bugs and leaches;

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/03/27/sebelius-well-yeah-actually-obamacare-is-causing-insurance-premiums-to-rise/

[daddy]

Speaking of Tapeworms and raw meat, here's todays Dead Pig Update:

Number of dead pigs found in Shanghai rivers rises to 16,000

Authorities give daily updates assuring the public that tests show Shanghai's water is safe, but no official has given any full explanation about the massive dumping of pig carcasses.

I asked our Ramp agent guy on arrival yesterday if they had found out the cause for the dead pigs. His English was not very good, but he replied that it was overpopulation, too many pigs all jammed together, so many many pigs died. Then he changed the subject quickly to China's Prime Minister being at a Conference in South Africa, and since I didn't want to embarrass him we starting talking about the Houston Rockets NBA Team (a safe topic).

Then last night I headed down to the Blarney Stone to get the real story from the regulars, but shock of shocks---the place was closed down and is being turned into an Italian Restaurant! A sign said the Blarney has moved to a new location somewhere on Yiang Yiang Street, but I didn't have the time to try to find the place, so I sauntered over to Sasha's, which is a beautiful pub in this historic old mansion, but as I'm not a regular I didn't want to offend anyone there with my dead pig questions.

I'll keep working on it however and try to keep JOM informed.

[narciso]

That's a 'travesty of two mockeries of a sham' daddy.

[matt]

sounds like Apigalypse Now, daddy.

Is that in the old restored warehouse/trader's district not far from Nanking Road? Looks very familiar. Been there many times. There is an excellent Italian restaurant very close by.

[Rick Ballard]

Repost from wrong thread -

Daddy,

Don't forget to continue research work on the Guiness Index. The Dublin benchmark is currently €4.50-5.00.

[MarkO]

Travishamockery.

[RichatUF nee GMU]

maryrose-

Class is going ok. I've got an econ test coming up on the 5th. Our finals won't roll around until May. One of my other classes is kicking my ass though.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

Is there anything weird daddy doesn't know?

[Captain Hate]

Stop calling daddy weird; he's a Tarhole.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

Yeah, I guess that sentence might have benefited from a strategically placed "that".

[GUS]

All those pigs going to waste. They should just fill the fugging river with carrots and such and it could feed everyone!!!!

[narciso]

It takes skill to miss the point, this severely;

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2013/03/cnn-debunks-cnns-debunker-esquires-bin-laden-shooter-story/63628/

but William Dean Howell wouldn't cry otherwise;

[daddy]

Matt,

Thats the place. A very neat mansion (built in 1921) with a sign saying its on some Historical Roster and protected. Italian joint is just down the street 30 or 40 feet. The Blarney was on the same street on the same side and on down about a hundred yards past that excellent Thai restaurant, Simply Thai.

Rick,

I was heading to the Blarney for Guinness, but when that fell thru I resorted to La Chouffe at Sasha's, a nice Belgium Ale which they have on tap, and my co-worker had a few dry martini's which he said were excellent.

BTW, the American owner (or probably part owner) of Sasha's is also the owner of my fav Pub in Taipei, The Malibu, which has just been relocated around the block since the mainland Chinese have bought up the block the pub was in and started demolition in order to build a huge new condo complex. He also owned Shanghai Sally's, which used to be where the Club band was a Reggae Band from Zaire, who would substitute Chinese words for the lyrics, and the local Chinese would dance up a storm on the huge dance floor. Haven't been there in ages but used to be fun.

[daddy]

A bunko of debunkers.

[narciso]

How about that, daddy, what a small world?

[Danube of Thought on iPad]

Sorry to see the streak end. Love watching that club play.

[narciso]

Which team, Danube;

[Danube of Thought on iPad]

Heat.

Nah. Weird daddy knows everything.

[narciso]

I guess I'm not surprised.

[narciso]

Some kind of one celled organism in the LUN

[narciso]

Considering how the ISI served as UBL's moving company, and his ties to the Gamaa Islamiya it wouldn't surprise;

http://www.therightscoop.com/egypt-president-morsi-to-have-al-qaeda-leader-zawahiri-secretly-smuggled-home-to-egypt/

[daddy]

How to piss off the Chinese:

Outrage at photo of Danish tourists urinating on Shanghai highway

Chinese internet users expressed their anger after six Danish tourists were witnessed urinating in the middle of a busy overpass in Shanghai.

The woman who took the photo...told the news outlet...the men were grinning as they relieved themselves.

The bus driver told police the passengers were Danish tourists who had just completed a tour of Shanghai’s Formular One Circuit.

While he was driving along the overpass, the driver said they forced him to stop. “They even tried to grab the steering wheel… and could have caused a traffic accident,”

Terribly offensive. I wonder why they did it?

The driver said the Danish tourists had been drinking a lot of beer.

Figures:)

[Stephanie]

As they say, you rent beer. Wonder why they didn't piss facing the bus?

[weird daddy]

Wonder why they didn't piss facing the bus?

Who knows? Perhaps it's a Magic Bus!

[weird daddy]

Is nothing sacred any more?

[Steve]

Video: CLICK: "Print Gun" -- 3D Printed Gun Documentary is going VIRAL Online

http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2013/03/click-print-gun-3d-printed-guns.html

[Melinda Romanoff on Kindle]

Try the kidney video, Steve. It will humble you.

[Marlene]

We're home! Just in time for mud season,ha. The long car ride was uneventful after leaving our daughter's house.Clear weather,moderate traffic. Driving over the Tappan Zee,we had a clear view of the city in the distance.Hope it doesn't sound corny,but it was quite an impressive sight to this Mainer!

[Janet]

Oh no! Here I am at the County Board meeting last night. We're trying to put the kibosh on a streetcar project.

[NK]

Marlene-- drive safely the rest of the way. It is a nice city view from Tappan Zee at dawn/dusk. You took 84 up through Hartford? Let Danny Malloy know what I think of him as you pass by.

PS: Newtown Ct is just a very few miles south of 84.

[NK]

PS: sorry, I re-read and you are home in Maine.

[narciso]

Ha, Janet, so the great Canadian Menace, only appears infrequently;

http://www.rightwingnews.com/column-2/iraq-a-convenient-scapegoat/

[Janet]

What a lousy article though.
"...there was one thing on which most people at the meeting seemed to agree.

Chris Zimmerman’s pay from AECOM seems pretty tiny compared to the scandal it generated."

How in the world does the writer know "what most people at the meeting" think? Crap "reporters" everywhere.

[NK]

Here's an actual fair and informative Nat journal article about McConnell continuous efforts to repeal ObummerCare (obviously some nastiness against Repub/cons). McConnell does have reconciliation to repeal Obummercare --IF- he ever gets 51 Repubs. The Roberts decision guaranteed that by defining ObummerCare as a tax. http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/the-secret-republican-plan-to-repeal-obamacare-20130327

[centralcal]

Atta girl, Janet! Oh, and the media sucks.

Changing subjects, I will be glad when Glenn Reynolds vacay is over - his Instapundit site is go cluttered with guest bloggers it is nearly unreadable.

[Marlene]

NK,we drove thru Hartford early yesterday morning.We caught some of the Hartford/Worcester/Boston morning commute traffic. We were really surprised to see that all those environmentally concerned liberals in CT and MA don't carpool! One person per car.
Janet,good for you!

[narciso]

Put away the koolaid bottles;

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/27/dems-endangered-by-repeat-obamas-boom-and-bust/#ixzz2OpnRniuo

I noticed another NR on dead tree, telling the GOP to surrender on the Medicare option, not this hill;

[hit and run]

Pictured: Janet, the managing director of the non-partisan, centrist, independent Coalition of Concerned Puppy Owners Against Street Cars at the Streetcar Town Hall, Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

[NK]

Q4 GDP final is out-- .37%-- that's it. .37% GDP growth. THEN payroll taxes went back up Jan 1, ObummerCare is more implemented-- AND high income earners tax rates went up-- fuel and food prices stay high. Yeah 2013 will be another great year for economic growth. Just ridiculous. Only good thing-- the 2014 Dems are DOOOOMED. WTF can they talk about? great job market, rising incomes, cheaper healthcare? It's gunz and gays until 11/14-- the nonstop meme from the Left/Media/Dem team.

[narciso]

That's a rounding error, within the standard deviation,

[Janet]

Yeah, hit! Hahahah! Wonderful! (I wish I woulda worn more bracelets)

[narciso]

Ah, he was a consultant at the World Bank:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/samuel-zimmerman/17/860/b66

[hit and run]

I think you should have rushed the stage and threw fake puppy blood on Zimmerman.

[NK]

Rounding error-- yes indeedy-- it means NO Growth. The Dems 2007-2010 have succeeded in making the USA Europe-- no growth, no job creation, one size fits all healthcare mandates/rationing-- and no children being conceived-- except out of wedlock future MediCaid cases. Just brilliant.

[narciso]

Was this, the pitch to the city council;

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANTRANSPORT/Resources/340136-1120662668760/zimmerman.pdf

[narciso]

I'm sure they were just as understanding with Thomas or Cheney;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/conflict-of-interest-charges-raised-over-arlington-transit-vote/2012/12/06/bb4bca64-4000-11e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_blog.html

[Janet]

THanks for the links, narciso. That 9:14 link is a different Zimmerman (ours is Chris). BRT or bus rapid transit would actually be a lot cheaper than streetcars....so we are gonna get streetcars. :(

[NK]

Jenet-- keep up the good fight!

BTW-- I was a 3 year resident of Arlington on Columbia Pike and in Downtown Rosslyn in 'Iranian Towers' 1979-1982.

[Captain Hate]

Now that Jim Webb is out of office, I guess he can start making sense: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-congress-is-making-itself-irrelevant/2013/03/27/530c7838-96ed-11e2-b68f-dc5c4b47e519_story.html?wprss=rss_george-will

[NK]

what's the Webb-Will connection?

[narciso]

Not surprising that Kimberlin's crib sheet got the story wrong;

http://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/dietrich-parents-want-more-notification-on-class-content/article_0bceb01b-65d8-57d4-be38-a1e1fccf59ef.html

[Janet]

from Captain's Webb link -

"Instead, “we took military action against a regime that we continued to recognize diplomatically, on behalf of disparate groups of opposing forces whose only real point of agreement was that they wished to rid Libya of [Moammar] Gaddafi. This was not even a civil war” because there was “no cohesive opposition facing a regime.” The result? “Rampant lawlessness” perhaps related to the murder of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and “the regionwide dispersion of thousands of weapons from Gaddafi’s armories.” "

[narciso]

Webb, who had a wholesale freak out over the Gulf War, which I don't feel too warm and fuzzy in retrospect 'but that's not important right now' what were his statements at the time,

[Annoying Old Guy]

Q4 GDP final is out-- .37%-- that's it. .37% GDP growth. THEN payroll taxes went back up Jan 1, ObummerCare is more implemented-- AND high income earners tax rates went up-- fuel and food prices stay high. Yeah 2013 will be another great year for economic growth. Just ridiculous. Only good thing-- the 2014 Dems are DOOOOMED. WTF can they talk about?

Same sex marriage. I suspect this why there is such an organized push. And, obviously, that poor economic growth is due to the sequester (LIVs will not realize the temporal ordering issue). Based on my conversations with LIVs those two will be enough to overcome any bad economic results. They're still not convinced that health insurance premiums are going up because of POR-care and I doubt Sibelius' admission will change that. DOOM. If it weren't for the picture of Janet, I'd be depressed all day.

[narciso]

Well there was some comment, but not nearly enough;

http://augustafreepress.com/2011/03/22/webb-on-libya-no-clear-sense-of-direction/

[Captain Hate]

I wish Webb would own up to how badly he got played by his party.

[Threadkiller]

If your sign was rainbow colors, you would have been interviewed in a heartbeat, Janet.

Good Job!

[narciso]

No. really 'it's just a fleshwound'

http://www.jammiewf.com/2013/liberals-still-express-hope-in-kentucky-despite-ashley-judds-cowardice-fortunately-we-have-a-deep-bench/

[matt]

Querida joked last night that the strongest proponents of same sex marriage are the divorce lawyers.Probably true dat!

[NK]

CaptH-- Webb own up? nah-- Webb still believes some Dem would make him a VP choice.

[Janet]

I wish Webb would own up to how badly he got played by his party.

Me too!!! They must have had something on him. Same with Sen. Mark Warner....he's not insane.

[Threadkiller]

Gun rights and more.

http://youtu.be/9lVOzjJVan4

[Captain Hate]

For all the dumbass things Webb did, he at least had the good sense to get out of politics. That puts him way above gladhanding Repuke vermin like Charlie Crist and Lisa-Lisa.

[NK]

Ct prosecutor releases Lanza info-- all 26 school victims murdered with the .223 rifle-- 155 rifle rounds fired by Lanza at the school, 1 10mm round self-inflicted pistol shot killed Lanza. Over 100 rounds not fired by Lanza. It was a savage bloodbath-- he must have repeatedly shot each victim. Prosecutors are 'still investigating motive'. Truly a joke-- he was mad as a March hare. http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/28/17501282-newtown-gunman-adam-lanza-fired-155-bullets-in-less-than-five-minutes-prosecutor-says?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1

[NK]

Janet-- 'insane'? no. But back in early 2000s-- just after 9/11, his remarrying, his son not growing up tht way he wanted, Bush not giving him a big Admin job, PLUS researching his Scots-Irish book-- Webb had some kind of midlife-Identity crisis. I was an email correspondent of his at the time. He came to loathe Bush-Cheney and he used Iraq to attack them, and he became a Dem hero. I haven't spoken to him in over 6 years, so can't say where he is now-- but given the fact he's a NoVa lifer since 1973, he's all in on the Imperial fed gov't Leviathan. He's a Dem forever-- course he's always a Webb supporter first and always.

[narciso]

They are all in on the scam, he's only upset because all of Obama's agenda, like card check, and cap n trade, didn't get through.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

From a thread or two ago DoT said

that is, dismiss the appeal, and vacate the 9th Circuit ruling, all on the basis of lack of standing--then Prop 8 would be the law in California everywhere

How does that work?
The CA Supreme Court basically upheld Prop 8.
The Fed District court had the same defendants who supposedly did not have standing to sue as the appeal did at the 9th circuit and SCOTUS.
A district court can grant standing to someone who doesn't rightfully have it?
If the full 9th's decision is vacated why isn't Walker's and the law revert to what the CA Supreme Court ruled?

[Threadkiller]

"Over 100 rounds not fired by Lanza"

What?

[narciso]

You know I can't get my head around this, back in the antediluvian era, one would have said someone like Lanza was 'possessed' there is no reason for this massacre of innocents.

[NK]

read the article-- Lanza brought 9 fully loaded 30 round Bushmaster .223 magazines, fired 154 rounds, leaving over 100 unfired rounds, including 3 fully loaded 30 round magazines. Then killed himself with a single 10mm Glock round.

[NK]

sheer madness-- firing round after round into 6 yos-- after murdering his mother. all premeditated. madness.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--You know I can't get my head around this, back in the antediluvian era, one would have said someone like Lanza was 'possessed' there is no reason for this massacre of innocents.--

I guess our whole country is possessed then since we give taxpayer money to organizations which kill babies in numbers Lanza could only dream of.

[narciso]

Yes, Moloch is really the head of Planned Parenthood,

[Marlene]

NK,we noticed a memorial of one large flag and 26 little flags near the I-84 exit for Newtown. Oh God, how heartbreaking to see the large green highway sign for the Newtown/Sandy Hook exit.

[narciso]

Thanks again, Rog, it's in Salon, but this is who we trade away for Beck;

In 2006, as a segment of gay rights organizations began the full-fledged push for marriage equality in America, another set of queer activists, joined by many straight people of color and feminist allies, voiced concern about making gay marriage a goal, let alone the centerpiece of the gay rights movement. Several prominent activists wrote and signed onto a statement called “Beyond Marriage.” In effect, they argued in a perpetual us-versus-them political paradigm, the solution to the systematic “otherization” of the gay community could not be found in joining the ranks of privilege through marriage while reinforcing the continued exclusion of other families. They wrote, “Marriage is not the only worthy form of family or relationship, and it should not be legally and economically privileged above all others.” These activists built on the radical traditions of the gay liberation movement — that the path to justice did not run through heteronormativity but through liberation for all.

[narciso]

Yes, that made as much sense as DeLong, meaning none,

[Clarice]

Hard to decide who was crazier, Lanza or his mother--

And in that vein, Conrad Black has a must read article on the scam that Woodward and Bernstein pulled off with Mark Felt to destroy Nixon http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/344038/truth-about-bob-woodward-conrad-black?pg=1

[AliceH]

--Hard to decide who was crazier, Lanza or his mother--

Did I miss something actually legitimately supporting the contention his mother was crazy? Only things I recall were the variations on "she liked guns and owned several, ipso facto abracadabra she must be a nutter."

[NK]

Narc-- that is an important point. There are very (very) few proponents of gay men marrying in a monogomous commitment. Andrew Sullivan is one of the few true believers. The other 'single sex marriage' supporters use it strictly as a tactic to destroy real marriage. The quote above shows the different tactical approaches-- but make no mistake--- they shre the strategic objective is to destroy real marriage. IMO, the few true believers like Sullivan don't share that goal, but if that's what happens as a consequence of getting what they want, they'll take it..., c'est le guerre.

[narciso]

Funny how you can't find that book in any library around town, any brick and mortar book store, or on the Daily Basilisk's dead tree edition,

[narciso]

That long quote came from here;

http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=48292#comments

wherein Signorile 'the outer' gave the game away nearly 20 years ago.

[Rick Ballard]

"I suspect this why there is such an organized push."

AOG,

Some consideration should be given to the proposition the Democrats are, once again, engaging in what was known in non-PC days as "rolling fags". Homosexuals will keep their wallets open only so long as Dems "keep hope alive" and the Dems have been playing them just as long as they've been playing the blacks chained up in their apartheid death traps. We will continue to see Dem Queer Theater productions for as long as Bloomie and his ilk continue to write checks.

[Janet]

Yes, Moloch is really the head of Planned Parenthood,

Amen, narciso.

Ignatz's 10:30 - I wondered that too.

[Clarice]

Alice, a check made out by her to Lanza for the purchase of a rifle, for one thing.

[NK]

Mrs lanza nuts? I have no way of knowing, but given the divorce and having to care on her own for the heavily medicated, shut-in and ultimately homocidal maniac Adam, it must have been an enormous strain on the woman.

[NK]

just saw my typo-- homocidal = homicidal. lanza and gay marriage in the same thread comments led to my Freudian moment.