Cannibalism & Vampirism

[Berzerker]

https://phys.org/news/2017-04-gut-contents-young-fish-lengthens.html

I've read human cannibals that eat brains dont do so well, but what if they eat the guts?

A team of researchers from several institutions in Germany has found that middle-age killifish fed the gut contents of younger killifish lived longer than normal. In their paper uploaded to the bioRxiv preprint server, the team describes their experiments with killifish, what they found and where they plan to take their research in the future.

Prior studies have shown that infusing the blood of a young animal into that of an older animal can offer both increased vitality and health benefits to the older animal. Other experiments have suggested that rejuvenating the gut biome of an animal might offer similar benefits.

it dont work in reverse though, feeding younger fish the guts of older fish wont age them faster

technically the fish didn't eat the guts but still acquired the younger fish's microbes

reminds me of the South Park episode with a wheel-chair bound Christopher Reeves sucking the stem cells from aborted fetuses

 

[Perfection]

If I eat enough skinny people will I lose weight?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Eating someone elses guts is a highly unlikely way to stock your own gut flora. It may work for a fish, but in a human there is very little gut flora that can survive the passage through the stomach. That's why probiotics are delivered by ingesting specialized capsules that will protect them through the stomach.

 

[Berzerker]

well that sounds logical, but wont they be able to do the same with younger peoples microbes?

acquiring the microbes is another matter

 

[Synobun]

well that sounds logical, but wont they be able to do the same with younger peoples microbes?

acquiring the microbes is another matter

Poop.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

well that sounds logical, but wont they be able to do the same with younger peoples microbes?

acquiring the microbes is another matter

Well, they don't really need younger people's microbes. They grow the microbes in a lab. I mean, the getting microbes from other people has some gruesome attraction maybe, but it's hardly necessary.

 

[Berzerker]

Poop.

I didn't wanna go there, but if an animal can pick up parasites from poop it might get beneficial microbes too

Well, they don't really need younger people's microbes. They grow the microbes in a lab. I mean, the getting microbes from other people has some gruesome attraction maybe, but it's hardly necessary.

Are you sure microbes cant survive the stomach? I know they have a coating for pills but dont we introduce the bugs to our gut by eating food?

I wonder if the lab can duplicate the microbes or if they take on different traits as they inhabit the gut

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Are you sure microbes cant survive the stomach? I know they have a coating for pills but dont we introduce the bugs to our gut by eating food?

Most of your gut flora was born there and will die there. It's their whole world. If something catastrophic happens and their population gets cut waaaaaay down they will repopulate very fast, because in such low competition conditions they would be breeding down there like bunnies. If you somehow managed to completely depopulate them so they couldn't recover I'd guess you would probably just die.

 

[Synobun]

I didn't wanna go there, but if an animal can pick up parasites from poop it might get beneficial microbes too

Ideally you won't be picking up any parasites. I was referring to fecal transplants. They're a far more effective way of balancing someone's gut flora than probiotics or careful diet.

Those with intestinal disorders can attest to the world of hurt you're in after a round of antibiotics, something that can mess up the gut flora in even the most healthy of individuals.

External ingestion of parasites or bacteria can cause unfortunate diseases such as dysentery.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Ideally you won't be picking up any parasites. I was referring to fecal transplants. They're a far more effective way of balancing someone's gut flora than probiotics or careful diet.

Those with intestinal disorders can attest to the world of hurt you're in after a round of antibiotics, something that can mess up the gut flora in even the most healthy of individuals.

External ingestion of parasites or bacteria can cause unfortunate diseases such as dysentery.

I just have to ask, are you registered on the international poop donor list?

 

[Synobun]

I just have to ask, are you registered on the international poop donor list?

Giving or receiving?

 

[Berzerker]

its a bit strange being some microbe's 'universe', maybe we're just microbes in a giant's gut

 

[Timsup2nothin]

its a bit strange being some microbe's 'universe', maybe we're just microbes in a giant's gut

If more people considered the possibility that we are vital parts of a planetary bio-system, just like those microbes are a vital part of you, and started acting like it we would all be a lot better off. Mostly we act like an invasive host killing virus.

 

[Lexicus]

 

[El_Machinae]

Fecal transplants are going to be a huge thing. We've seen fecal transplants fight obesity in the lab. We've seen them drastically ameliorate autoimmune conditions.

Berzerker: you should google parabiosis experiments regarding mice and longevity!

 

[Broken_Erika]

So, what you are saying is that S**t-transplants are the future..
A whole new meaning to "I got some new S**t!"

 

[EgonSpengler]

Sheds new light on the term "swag" ([stuff] we all get) too.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

So, what you are saying is that S**t-transplants are the future..
A whole new meaning to "I got some new S**t!"

And suddenly an appropriate response to "Well, no s**t!" is "What? You're out of stock?"

 

[Berzerker]

just an anecdote and I have no medical data to back it up, but I heard some guy who grew up in NYC talking about how he got the impression swimming in the city's polluted (poop) river reduced polio cases

sounds suspicious, but intriguing at the same time

If more people considered the possibility that we are vital parts of a planetary bio-system, just like those microbes are a vital part of you, and started acting like it we would all be a lot better off. Mostly we act like an invasive host killing virus.

we paved over paradise and put up a parking lot

 

[The_J]

Well, they don't really need younger people's microbes. They grow the microbes in a lab. I mean, the getting microbes from other people has some gruesome attraction maybe, but it's hardly necessary.

Well...depending on the circumstances.
Culturing poop samples as they are is complicated, there are too many unknown. Artificial gut systems exist (e.g. SHIME or gut-on-a-chip), but they are not perfect.
And for the fecal transplant, you need to make sure that whatever you put in is working in physiological conditions.
Sometimes it's necessary.

Most of your gut flora was born there and will die there. It's their whole world. If something catastrophic happens and their population gets cut waaaaaay down they will repopulate very fast, because in such low competition conditions they would be breeding down there like bunnies. If you somehow managed to completely depopulate them so they couldn't recover I'd guess you would probably just die.

Both untrue .
You acquire the microbiota from the environment. Early gut colonisation comes mainly from either the mothers microbiota (vaginal/skin/anal), and in case of cesarian section just plainly from the environment (which as an effect, which can be detected, these are significantly different).
Complete depopulation will also not kill you. You will re-gain microbes from the environment. Actually, in some diseases they do directed bacterial decolonization of the gut with a ton of antibiotics (e.g. the hospital I'll be working in does that before bone marrow transplant), and that does obviously not kill the people.
EDIT: To investigate gut colonization, researchers also create sterile animals ("gnotobiotic" animals, pigs, rats, etc), normally with cesearian section, antibiotics and sterile environments. The main effect is that they basically are less efficient in their digestion (no suprise), since intake from bacterial fermentation can be up to 10% of your daily calories.

And yes, also possible to acquire microbiota via oral intake. The rate is not high, but is possible.

(I might check for the actual references when I'm at work tomorrow)


EDIT: For the actual OP...well...no idea, would need to read it.
And it's on arxiv, so not peer-reviewed, so that might take longer to read.