BioImmersion’s Midterm Quiz

Dear Friends,

All of our discussion about eco schools and the education of our children and young adults (and old adults for that matter) over the past few Newsletters has put me in a teaching frame of mind. There will be no Newsletter lecture today because we are having a quiz. Yes, today is your midterm test. Take out a piece of paper, number from one to twenty, to record your answers. You have 10 minutes. Enjoy!

The BioImmersion Newsletter Midterm

1. Which term includes the other two?
   (a) Probiotic (b) Synbiotic (c) Prebiotic (d) None
2. There are 100 trillion microbes in our gut. How many human cells make up the human body?
   (a) No one knows (b) Approx. 100 trillion (c) Approx. 1 trillion (d) Approx. 10 trillion
3. The 100 trillion microbes in our gut produce approximately how many different proteins?
   (a) 100,000 (b) 20,000 (c) 10,000 (d) 1,000
4. Our own human cells produce how many different proteins?
   (a) 100,000 (b) 20,000 (c) 10,000 d. 1,000
5. The microbiome is?
   (a) A class of pathogens (b) A group of enzymes (c) The full collection of bugs that exist within the human body (d) None of the above
6. Bruce Birren, co-director of the Genomic Sequencing and Analysis Program at HMP (the Human Microbiome Project) says that: We’re not individuals, we’re colonies of creatures. What is he referring to?
   (a) Our human body. (b) The global population. (c ) Our brutish attitudes. (d) Our herd mentality.
7. LAB (lactic acid bacteria) are the organisms most frequently commonly used as probiotics because?
   (a) They are the group of organisms most commonly used to ferment foods around the world. (b) They are the only organisms safe for human use. (c) They are inexpensive to produce. (d) They are able to resist antibiotics.
8. The Human Microbiome Project requires mainstream medical researchers to face the reality that:
   (a) We live in a survival of the fittest world. (b) A reductionist perspective must replace systemic thought (c) The human body is not governed by human cells alone. (d) a and b.
9. Combining sequenced genome information + metagenomic analysis will give us what?
   (a) Will enable us to identify the bacteria and to know the genetic capabilities. (b) Will enable us to complete the sequencing of 1000 genomes. (c) The two cannot be combined. (d) None of the above.
10. How many genes do most bacteria have?
    (a) 1000 (b) 2000 to 4000 (c) 4000 to 8000 (d) 8000 to 16,000.
11. Based on your answer above, how many different proteins can a bacteria make?
    (a) 1000 (b) 2000 to 4000 (c) 4000 to 8000 (d) 8000 to 16,000.
12. Most bacteria have how many chromosomes?
    (a) One circular chromosome (b) Two pared chromosomes (c) Three parallel chromosomes (d) Four to six
13. Metabolic pathways are basically pathways of what?
    (a) Proteins (b) Carbohydrates (c) Fats (d) All three
14. The microbiome sites to be studied by the Human Microbiome Project are:
    (a) The oral cavity and the nasophyarynx (b) The skin and the GI Tract, (c) The genitourinary tract and the blood (d) All of the above.
15. That the GI epithelial membrane is a major area of importance for our body is demonstrated by the fact that:
    (a) 70 % of our immune system is located there, making it the body’ s largest immune organ. (b) The enteric nervous system is second only to our brain in nerve cell mass. (c) That the GI tract is the largest surface area of exposure of our body to the outside world. (d) All of the above.
16. Xenobiotics (heavy metal, chemical pollutants, etc.) affect the nervous system and the immune system more that any other of the body tissues because:
    (a) There are more receptor sites in the cell membranes of nerve cells and immune cells. (b) Toxins more easily pass through these membranes (c) They are more spread out throughout the body (d) They are not more affected. All systems are equally attacked.
17. Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli are genuses most commonly used in a formula because?
    (a) Bifido grows in the small bowel and Lacto in the big. (b) Bifido is an aerobic organism and Lacto isn’t. (c) Bifido is an obligate anaerobe and grows only in the colon, where as Lacto covers both. (d) none of the above.
18. Regarding Therapeutic Foods Synbiotic Formula, which formulas have just good bugs and fiber?
    (a) High ORAC Synbiotic Formula, No. 7, Original Synbiotic Formula. (b) Original, Beta Glucan, Supernatant. (c) Triple, Cranberry and Pomegranate, High ORAC. (d) none of the above.
19. Supernatant was created to protect against?
    (a)nosocomal infections. (b) chronic gut inflammation. (c) poor digestion. (d) All of the above.
20. With the Supernatant Synbiotic Formula, the name describes the product. What is supernatant?
    (a) Freeze dried metabolites of the good bugs. (b) Prebiotic and probiotic. (c) A special proprietary ingredient. (d) A type of vitamin.

Well, that is it. Good job! How did you do?

Here’s the answers: 1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (b) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (a) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (b) 11. (b) 12. (a) 13. (a) 14. (d) 15. (a) 16. (a) 17. (c) 18. (b) 19. (d) 20. (a).

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

BioImmersion.com

Clinical Note:

On February 11th at 5:00pm PST I will be conducting a webinar entitled, DeEvolution and the Ecology of the Microbiome. It will be 45 minutes of lecture and fifteen minutes for discussion—starting at 5:00pm and ending at 6:00 sharp. We will be looking at what is driving the driving force keeping our GI tract chronically inflammed and how to mediate it through a systemic use of therapeutic foods. If you would like to be a part of it, just send me an email and I will send you the link plus a special attached sheet, entitled-Systemic Use of Therapeutic Foods- that you may print out to take notes on.

The Last Quiz Answer: This gorgeous creature is the Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise, Cicinnurus magnificus. It is a small, up to 26 cm-long, bird-of-paradise with extremely complex plumage. The male has seemingly incandescent yellow wings, an iridescent-green breast shield, blue feet, and is adorned with a yellow mantle on its neck. It has two long, curved, blue-green sickle-like tail feathers. The female is a comparatively drab olive-brown bird with black-barred buffy underparts. It lays two creamy yellow eggs.

The Magnificent Bird-of-paradise is distributed amongst the hill and mid-mountain forests of New Guinea and surrounding islands. Its diet consists mainly of fruits. Like most members of the Paradisaeidae family, the male is polygamous and performs an elaborate courtship display and you will see in this clip.

Next week we will be talking about Food Inc.—a film that lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing how our food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.