Heard about this study on auntie today....

Heard about this study on auntie today. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/22/health/laxative-dementia-risk-study/index.html

Interesting ... laxatives -> microbiome -> dementia ... it seems there may be a chain there but correlation is not causation. So very very early days and very speculative. But if someone can show that the loss of certain bugs from the microbiome somehow triggers a propensity for dementia then maybe the addition of those particular bugs may dampen the propensity for dementia. Wonder who is perfectly skilled to hunt that one down? (hint: Microba).

Just some editorial comment: I actually hate how media outlets like the ABC and CNN portray scientific studies like this one by first making a particularly eye-catching observation and only then walking it back in the body of the writing. Sort of like crying wolf to attract eyeballs. Having said that I think some people, even some academics, totally underestimate how disruptive AI will be for the progression of science. Another medtech company I follow have said that the work they did on their initial product which took over a decade to do they now can do in weeks for subsequent product candidates and the reason for the order of magnitude change is they are now using artificial intelligence programs.

I see in the article someone said the research on the laxative / dementia link could take decades. I have a picture of one of the Microba boffins seeing that comment and saying "hold my beer ....".