Tagged Questions

5
votes
1answer
51 views

What effect do oligosaccharides, like those found in legumes, have on the composition of intestinal flora in humans and if so how so?

I know that intestinal flora metabolising oligosaccharides, like those found in legumes, is the cause for the well known fact that legumes cause flatulence, but does an oligosaccharide-rich intestine ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views

Whence fecal E. coli (et al.) if swallowing it is dangerous?

I don't know much about medicine, and I know even less about microbiology, but I understand that there are organisms in the lower gastrointestinal tract (and in feces) of a human, like Escherichia ...
4
votes
2answers
168 views

Does making yogurt from non-pasteurized milk work against possible disease bacteria?

In the past, when there was no pasteurization, could making yogurt from milk lower the chance of getting infected by bovine tuberculosis (or other diseases from infected milk)? For example, would ...
1
vote
0answers
46 views

Are the intestinal flora substantially different within a diverticulum of the colon?

From the Wikipedia page for the vermiform appendix: This proposal is based on a new understanding of how the immune system supports the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, in combination ...
9
votes
2answers
194 views

Where do the bacteria within the vagina originate from?

I understand that it's feasible the bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract originate from the food we eat and air we breath, but where does this population of microbes originate from?
4
votes
2answers
430 views

Why would taking antibiotics increase stamina and energy?

I often hear that people who are taking antibiotics experience wild fluctuations between feeling full of energy and completely alert but soon after feeling impossibly fatigued and sick. Does this ...
19
votes
2answers
3k views

If a human takes antibiotics are all bacteria in the body killed?

From my basic understanding, antibiotics kill living things, bacteria for example. Do the antibiotics consumed by a human-being distinguish between what they kill? Or do they just kill every bacteria ...
13
votes
3answers
1k views

What causes the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria?

I understand bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics due to selection pressures, but how do resistant bacteria process antibiotics when exposed to it, compared to non-resistant bacteria. Also, ...