Sunday, March 25, 2012

Early Exposure To Germs Has Lasting Benefits

Not entirely true. Grains harvested in the Mesopotamian region for the past 20,000 years contain a fungus that produces potent antibiotics. This was discovered by analyzing those who drank beer (albeit over a paltry 8,000 years) and finding the residue in the bones. Once the source was traced back to the fungus, it was obvious that anyone eating grains in the Middle East since the advent of farming (20,000 years ago) will have had "modern medicine".

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/antibiotic-beer/ [wired.com]

Before then? Well, honey is another rich source of antibiotics. It's also a hygroscopic material, so applying it to burns will not only kill bacteria but will also reduce inflammation, build-ups of toxins, etc.

It's unclear when Neolithic man first developed brain surgery, but there's no question that he did and that patients survived.

So man has had a LOT of medical assistance for a very long time. Not as much as in modern times, true, but it wasn't zero. Not by a long way.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/YKChYJrhMjk/early-exposure-to-germs-has-lasting-benefits

culkin wooly mammoth no child left behind no child left behind neurofibromatosis steve jobs fbi file suge knight

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.