4/29/26 Entry #15 Outside Reading

 Piore, Adam. “The Global Hunt to Unlock the Healing Powers of Poop.” National Geographic 249, no. 5 (May 2026): 64-81. 

This article followed the efforts of scientists studying gut-bourne bacteria. They set out to create a database of the world’s microbiome, by identifying and naming gut bacteria from different populations. They took stool samples and analyzed them within 30 minutes. They compared the samples of people from industrialized nations, rural farmers, and isolated humans like the Hadza. The Hadza live off the land, similar to ancient people, they hunt various animals and gather various plants for consumption. Their varied diet was reflected in the species diversity and richness in their stool. When compared to the sample of the industrialized diet, the Hadza sample showed a much larger community or bacteria. These samples allow researches to isolate specific bacteria that can be helpful or harmful to the host human. This data will help future researchers to possibly develop new treatments for diseases such as obesity or diabetes.