5 ms·

Mouse research identifies new types of neurons in the “gut brain” (2020)

64 points by truth_ 5y ago

blakesterz 5y ago
Is there some kind of "law of headlines" that states most headlines dealing with breakthroughs in health always end with "In Mice"? If not, there should be. This study shows how it works... in mice: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00736-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00736-x I'm not trying to dismiss things, just seems important to note this is from work done on mice, not people. "Hey, There's a Second Brain in Your Gut And now scientists know how it works In Mice" still sounds ok to me.
- _Microft 5y ago
  That’s a common problem and there’s even a Twitter account dedicated to calling that out: https://mobile.twitter.com/justsaysinmice https://mobile.twitter.com/justsaysinmice
- yorwba 5y ago
  Even that doesn't seem to be accurate: “Using extensive co-staining with established markers, they were able to relate the twelve neuron classes to previously discovered molecular characteristics of functional enteric neuron types, thus classifying the ENCs into excitatory and inhibitory motor neurons, interneurons, and intrinsic primary afferent neurons.” With a sharper protocol and new information, the researchers were able to confirm and expand on the existing body of ENS neuron knowledge. And now they can work on finding out what each of the 12 ENS neuron types is responsible for, they say. Which sounds less like "now scientists know how it works in mice" and more like "now scientists know more about the different cell types it contains in mice."
- allturtles 5y ago
  As long as we're complaining about the title, can I register my dislike of the pointless "Hey,"? I guess this is supposed to make science reporting seem more casual and approachable?
  - jl6 5y ago
    No, it’s an “engagement hack” to increase clickthrough rates.
  - frogpelt 5y ago
    I want to complain too. I found this sentence in the article: "The gut brain greatly affects on how you body works." I have trouble reading articles with obvious errors in them. The writer probably gets paid very little and I doubt there's an editor. But I expect more, I guess.
  - avaldes 5y ago
    "Your gut has a brain... AND THATS A GOOD THING"
- dang 5y ago
  We've attempted to replaced that wretched title with something serviceable. The entire article is dreadful, including what they've done with links, but I wasn't able to find a better third-party source.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
thebean11 5y ago
no they don't
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
cryptica 5y ago
This gives new meaning to the phrases "I have a gut feeling" and "Trust your gut."
UncleOxidant 5y ago
Cool, then if they know how it works they'll be able to fix my IBS, right? I don't think they know how it works yet, nor did I read any details in that article that would make me think that they had it all figured out.
- malexw 5y ago
  Has your health care practitioner suggested a probiotic of lactobacillus plantarum (specifically Lp299v)? This study published in February of 2021[1] suggests it can significantly reduce symptoms when taken daily over a multi-month period. Perhaps something to discuss with the doc if you haven't. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33556972/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33556972/
- wayneftw 5y ago
  I changed my diet and my stress level. Eat at regular times, learn to let go (it helps to see the big picture and remember that you'll be dead before long) and add some probiotics to your gut. Eating lots of Kimchi and Kombucha helped almost immediately. I'm sure you can find lots of similar advice on the web.
  - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
    Try also Visbiome unflavored. 450 billion bacteria per packet. It's expensive so I only take 1 packet per week.
  - sharadov 5y ago
    Yoghurt is great too.
yellow_lead 5y ago
No, they still don't. I went to a GI doctor recently with the complaint that I can't consume caffeine, or oily foods anymore without stomach issues. He prescribed a GI antibiotic to "try." Nothing has changed but I'm a bit poorer.
- dlsa 5y ago
  I'd go to a different doctor. Antibiotics always require a reason involving something bacterial. There is no "try". Example case in point: antibiotics can mess up a healthy person and induce stomach issues.
  - treeman79 5y ago
    I had a mystery illness. I kept a 4 page sheet of symptoms and what helped hurt. One doctor read though it and correctly diagnosed the mystery illness. (Sjogrens) Later verified. Turned out the line that caught his attention was that symptoms always eased up when I took doxicyline. This 80 year old doctor had seen that enough to pick out the illness. There is some minimal research into the topic but in general it’s a taboo subject and no doctor will consider a round as a test to see if it will help.
- treeman79 5y ago
  Oily food issue. Was having that. Ended up being pancreatitis, which itself was an early symptom of autoimmune disease
jschveibinz 5y ago
Scientists: We are studying gut neurons. Marketing: What are neurons? Scientists: They are cells in our nervous systems, such as the brain. Marketing: guts have brains? Scientists: well, I wouldn’t… Marketing: never mind, we got this…
- rcxdude 5y ago
  The analogy is more apt than saying e.g. your leg has a brain due to the nerves in it. The nervous system in the gut has a lot of neurons in it (the human gut has about as many as a cat's brain), and they are not just simple sensory or motor neurons relaying information, many are at least similar to the kind of 'decision-making' neurons you find in the brain.
  - meristem 5y ago
    I knew my gut liked lasers and catnip for a reason.
- c7DJTLrn 5y ago
  It's not marketing, but clickbait media watering down science that can't really be watered down.
stenl 5y ago
Cool. Ulrika’s office is across from mine, and this is a more extensive follow-up of work we did together in 2018 to map neuron types in the gut (and in the whole nervous system). I’m pretty sure Ulrika wouldn’t claim to know how the ENS works (nor do I) but having the parts list is incredibly important. For example, it enables genetic manipulation to delete cell types or activate them on-demand using light. Those things are what will lead to understanding how the system works.
nemo44x 5y ago
How does this effect people who have had a full or partial colectomy? Is this tied to the large, small, or both?
abnry 5y ago
Just change the "hey" to "heyy there" to make the headline even more ridiculous.
- 2bitencryption 5y ago
  There's a Second Brain in your Gut and I can't even
- newsbinator 5y ago
  This headline needs a “lol” or a “rofl” appended for maximum effect.
metalman 5y ago
Gut brain or enteric brain There are neural nodes throughout your ,ya you,body. Bunch around your spine. And the ones around you gut,that have the same number of neurons as a cat. That inner voice is real baby.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
soco 5y ago
Am I the only one thinking about Krang (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)? https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Krang_(1987_TV_series) https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Krang_(1987_TV_series)

64 points by truth_ 5y ago

Is there some kind of "law of headlines" that states most headlines dealing with breakthroughs in health always end with "In Mice"? If not, there should be. This study shows how it works... in mice: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00736-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00736-x I'm not trying to dismiss things, just seems important to note this is from work done on mice, not people. "Hey, There's a Second Brain in Your Gut And now scientists know how it works In Mice" still sounds ok to me.

_Microft 5y ago
That’s a common problem and there’s even a Twitter account dedicated to calling that out: https://mobile.twitter.com/justsaysinmice https://mobile.twitter.com/justsaysinmice
yorwba 5y ago
Even that doesn't seem to be accurate: “Using extensive co-staining with established markers, they were able to relate the twelve neuron classes to previously discovered molecular characteristics of functional enteric neuron types, thus classifying the ENCs into excitatory and inhibitory motor neurons, interneurons, and intrinsic primary afferent neurons.” With a sharper protocol and new information, the researchers were able to confirm and expand on the existing body of ENS neuron knowledge. And now they can work on finding out what each of the 12 ENS neuron types is responsible for, they say. Which sounds less like "now scientists know how it works in mice" and more like "now scientists know more about the different cell types it contains in mice."
allturtles 5y ago
As long as we're complaining about the title, can I register my dislike of the pointless "Hey,"? I guess this is supposed to make science reporting seem more casual and approachable?
- jl6 5y ago
  No, it’s an “engagement hack” to increase clickthrough rates.
- frogpelt 5y ago
  I want to complain too. I found this sentence in the article: "The gut brain greatly affects on how you body works." I have trouble reading articles with obvious errors in them. The writer probably gets paid very little and I doubt there's an editor. But I expect more, I guess.
- avaldes 5y ago
  "Your gut has a brain... AND THATS A GOOD THING"
dang 5y ago
We've attempted to replaced that wretched title with something serviceable. The entire article is dreadful, including what they've done with links, but I wasn't able to find a better third-party source.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

thebean11 5y ago

no they don't

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

cryptica 5y ago

This gives new meaning to the phrases "I have a gut feeling" and "Trust your gut."

UncleOxidant 5y ago

Cool, then if they know how it works they'll be able to fix my IBS, right? I don't think they know how it works yet, nor did I read any details in that article that would make me think that they had it all figured out.

malexw 5y ago
Has your health care practitioner suggested a probiotic of lactobacillus plantarum (specifically Lp299v)? This study published in February of 2021[1] suggests it can significantly reduce symptoms when taken daily over a multi-month period. Perhaps something to discuss with the doc if you haven't. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33556972/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33556972/
wayneftw 5y ago
I changed my diet and my stress level. Eat at regular times, learn to let go (it helps to see the big picture and remember that you'll be dead before long) and add some probiotics to your gut. Eating lots of Kimchi and Kombucha helped almost immediately. I'm sure you can find lots of similar advice on the web.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  Try also Visbiome unflavored. 450 billion bacteria per packet. It's expensive so I only take 1 packet per week.
- sharadov 5y ago
  Yoghurt is great too.

yellow_lead 5y ago

No, they still don't. I went to a GI doctor recently with the complaint that I can't consume caffeine, or oily foods anymore without stomach issues. He prescribed a GI antibiotic to "try." Nothing has changed but I'm a bit poorer.

dlsa 5y ago
I'd go to a different doctor. Antibiotics always require a reason involving something bacterial. There is no "try". Example case in point: antibiotics can mess up a healthy person and induce stomach issues.
- treeman79 5y ago
  I had a mystery illness. I kept a 4 page sheet of symptoms and what helped hurt. One doctor read though it and correctly diagnosed the mystery illness. (Sjogrens) Later verified. Turned out the line that caught his attention was that symptoms always eased up when I took doxicyline. This 80 year old doctor had seen that enough to pick out the illness. There is some minimal research into the topic but in general it’s a taboo subject and no doctor will consider a round as a test to see if it will help.
treeman79 5y ago
Oily food issue. Was having that. Ended up being pancreatitis, which itself was an early symptom of autoimmune disease

jschveibinz 5y ago

Scientists: We are studying gut neurons. Marketing: What are neurons? Scientists: They are cells in our nervous systems, such as the brain. Marketing: guts have brains? Scientists: well, I wouldn’t… Marketing: never mind, we got this…

rcxdude 5y ago
The analogy is more apt than saying e.g. your leg has a brain due to the nerves in it. The nervous system in the gut has a lot of neurons in it (the human gut has about as many as a cat's brain), and they are not just simple sensory or motor neurons relaying information, many are at least similar to the kind of 'decision-making' neurons you find in the brain.
- meristem 5y ago
  I knew my gut liked lasers and catnip for a reason.
c7DJTLrn 5y ago
It's not marketing, but clickbait media watering down science that can't really be watered down.

stenl 5y ago

Cool. Ulrika’s office is across from mine, and this is a more extensive follow-up of work we did together in 2018 to map neuron types in the gut (and in the whole nervous system). I’m pretty sure Ulrika wouldn’t claim to know how the ENS works (nor do I) but having the parts list is incredibly important. For example, it enables genetic manipulation to delete cell types or activate them on-demand using light. Those things are what will lead to understanding how the system works.

nemo44x 5y ago

How does this effect people who have had a full or partial colectomy? Is this tied to the large, small, or both?

abnry 5y ago

Just change the "hey" to "heyy there" to make the headline even more ridiculous.

2bitencryption 5y ago
There's a Second Brain in your Gut and I can't even
newsbinator 5y ago
This headline needs a “lol” or a “rofl” appended for maximum effect.

metalman 5y ago

Gut brain or enteric brain There are neural nodes throughout your ,ya you,body. Bunch around your spine. And the ones around you gut,that have the same number of neurons as a cat. That inner voice is real baby.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

soco 5y ago

Am I the only one thinking about Krang (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)? https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Krang_(1987_TV_series) https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Krang_(1987_TV_series)