Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Only Half Human

aga - 9-4-2018 at 22:44

Apparently we're nowhere near 100% Human tissue.

The following article states that the majority of the human 'system' is made up of microbes.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43674270

I'll never feel bad if i get called a bacterium or amoeba again.

j_sum1 - 9-4-2018 at 23:07

On a per mass basis you are mostly human. On a per cell basis you are mostly gut bacteria. Bacteria cells are a whole lot smaller than mammalian cells.

I happen to value things like lifespan, varied diet and limbs. I think they contribute more to who I am than my gut flora. So whenever I am talking about identity I discount the microbes that travel with me.

LearnedAmateur - 10-4-2018 at 04:01

Kinda makes people look like idiots when they say ‘we’re all human’.

But yes, we are teeming with foreign invaders that like to profit off our energy input and efforts. I guess it’s a good thing that some of them want to give back to us, unwittingly of course, but we’re better off with them inside our bodies.

aga - 10-4-2018 at 04:04

Some things we cannot get for ourselves.

We very much needing the help of some microbes to stay alive.

Vitamin B12 for example cannot be absorbed to any significant extent without the help of bacteria.

The relationship is symbiotic in those cases.

happyfooddance - 10-4-2018 at 10:38

On a related note, I have kombucha and vinegar mothers that I will gladly donate (minus shipping) to any (health) interested scientists.

Tsjerk - 10-4-2018 at 11:20

Kombucha thea is at the least not proven beneficial, at the worst downright dangerous. There are even countries where Kombucha is illegal because of the health dangers.

For vinegar you can just do a aerobic yeast fermentation.

sodium_stearate - 10-4-2018 at 11:24

Quote: Originally posted by aga  
Apparently we're nowhere near 100% Human tissue.


Half human, half alcohol!:D

happyfooddance - 10-4-2018 at 11:30

Quote: Originally posted by Tsjerk  


For vinegar you can just do a aerobic yeast fermentation.


Vinegar grows from a bacterium, not a yeast.

That is why you might need a mother.

Also, I guarantee that my kombucha cultures are free from contamination, and produce a consistent product. They are not a brine, they are a many inches thick biological mass. If not, I would not be giving them away.


symboom - 10-4-2018 at 15:56

Its ok some famous people arnt human lol
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoLQ2-Udiyo

violet sin - 10-4-2018 at 17:50

I loves me some kombucha. Haven't had time to make it my self in a while, but I use to in faithfully lockstep on consumption of 2/3 to 3/4 of the brew. But I really liked it after 30 days best. None of that light tasting crud unless I could help it. You can slice the mother into chunks, throw it in the vitablender, and drink the some'bitch. Leave it open an mixing for 2 min to fold in some air and it kills the vinegar flavor should you object, I do not. Like a mix between a soft Apple and squash flavor. Easily flavored with fruit and such. It does work for me, really helped flexibility for my tired and sore tendons/joints. Drywall is not nice to the body.

Happyfooddance : I'd be interested to see some of the kombucha mother freezedried and graphetized like Careysub's bread -> carbon foam thread. Basically anything to try and keep it dimensionally stable and consistent density, air drying would not work. Can't wait to start growing the stuff again for this reason alone. The mother grown over a support and then baked would be COOL.

"Carbon Foam Refractory Made From Bread"
https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=70...



Just tried keifer recently and that stuffs not bad.

VSEPR_VOID - 10-4-2018 at 18:26

Quote: Originally posted by aga  
Apparently we're nowhere near 100% Human tissue.

The following article states that the majority of the human 'system' is made up of microbes.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43674270

I'll never feel bad if i get called a bacterium or amoeba again.


not to nit-pick but tissues are a collection of similar cells preforming a function. Bacteria are prokaryotes and thus are exclusively single cellular, they can not form tissues. They will however often work together through quorum sensing and also make biofilms.

aga - 10-4-2018 at 23:26

ISTR that the Portugese Man 'o War jellyfish is more like a pile of bacterial colonies than an 'integrated' sort of creature.

happyfooddance - 12-4-2018 at 12:14

Quote: Originally posted by violet sin  
I loves me some kombucha. Haven't had time to make it my self in a while, but I use to in faithfully lockstep on consumption of 2/3 to 3/4 of the brew. But I really liked it after 30 days best. None of that light tasting crud unless I could help it. You can slice the mother into chunks, throw it in the vitablender, and drink the some'bitch. Leave it open an mixing for 2 min to fold in some air and it kills the vinegar flavor should you object, I do not. Like a mix between a soft Apple and squash flavor. Easily flavored with fruit and such. It does work for me, really helped flexibility for my tired and sore tendons/joints. Drywall is not nice to the body.

Happyfooddance : I'd be interested to see some of the kombucha mother freezedried and graphetized like Careysub's bread -> carbon foam thread. Basically anything to try and keep it dimensionally stable and consistent density, air drying would not work. Can't wait to start growing the stuff again for this reason alone. The mother grown over a support and then baked would be COOL.

"Carbon Foam Refractory Made From Bread"
https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=70...



Just tried keifer recently and that stuffs not bad.


I love a carbonated drink, and coca-cola just doesn't sit right with my soul. That is why I drink kombucha.

I have heard of people (businesses) adding the biomass to smoothies, for an extra cost, of course.

Your idea about kombucha carbon has me thinking... I freeze dried some strawberries once. It took about two weeks for about a quarter pound of strawberries over CaCl2 for about 2 weeks (under aspirator vacuum). I make various types of carbon and I like how different their properties are.

The vinegar mother produces a nice biomass, in sheets. They call it "bioleather". They make purses and wallets out of it, for the hippie type. I haven't done much experimenting with it, but it is here, and I think about it...

Twospoons - 12-4-2018 at 15:25

Makes me wonder if we exist for the bacteria's benefit, rather than them for ours. As if we are nothing more than a gigantic organic cruise ship for a bunch of bacteria to get around the world in.

Morgan - 12-4-2018 at 16:35

Lichen came to mind and as mentioned the Portuguese man o' war hydrozoa.

Morgan - 13-4-2018 at 05:22

Another tidbit recalled from my school days.
"Most species of Euglena have photosynthesizing chloroplasts within the body of the cell, which enable them to feed by autotrophy, like plants. However, they can also take nourishment heterotrophically, like animals."
Wiki

aga - 13-4-2018 at 08:23

From wiki: "... can survive without light on a diet of organic matter, such as beef extract, peptone, acetate, ethanol ..."

I knew i wasn't 100% human. Must be part Euglena ;)