In the past decade, technology has made it possible for people to cheaply analyze not only our own genes, but the genes of our non-human roommates, too. These days, scientists generally agree that about half the cells in a typical human body are human, half are microbial, and there’s value in studying both.
Sprague identifies with the burgeonning “quantified self” movement, which is big in Silicon Valley and involves tracking and collecting all kinds of data about the body to improve one’s health.
In 2014, he decided to do all he could to understand his body with these newly available tests. He was one of the first to try 23andMe to analyze his DNA, and was early into direct-to-consumer “microbiome” tests, including one from venture-backed uBiome, where he worked as a citizen scientist-in-residence.
“About five years ago, I started learning about all the non-human genes that are just sitting there, which co-evolved with humans and are clearly doing something,” he said.
At this point, Sprague might be the most “tested” citizen scientist in the world. He has analyzed the microbes in his gut, his nose, his mouth and his skin more than 600 times, he estimates.
Sprague has published a lot of this data online. He’s also created charts and other graphics to better visualize the data, and look for potential patterns. He’ll often incorporate his sleep, food and exercise routines, which he methodically tracks with an iPhone.
In the process, Sprague has had to collect a lot of his own feces, which is the main ingredient used in gut microbiome studies. But he’s also learned from taking samples from other nooks and crannies in his body. According to Eisen, the UC Davis professor, there are mouth, skin and other related studies of the microbiome underway also.
from Viral News Updates http://bit.ly/2S7ttMe
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