For an unlimited duration kept Switzerland as a location for “Noah’s ark of microorganisms”Because of the number of human microorganisms decreases, to protect researchers, the remaining species. Switzerland as a location for such a Reservoir in the conversation.0 comment researchers from all over the world want to create a “Noah’s ark for microorganisms”.Photo: Geatan Bally/Keystone

The number of microorganisms that are responsible for the health of the people is of Central importance, decreases dramatically. Scientists around the globe want to protect the remaining species of organisms in a Reservoir. Switzerland as a location in the conversation.

The Initiative aims to create a “Noah’s ark for microorganisms”. The organisms will be kept for an unlimited period, as the Seerave Foundation announced on Thursday.

The trillions of microorganisms that live in and on the bodies of the people, are critical in ensuring that the population remains healthy and disease-causing agents are combated, such as the Coronavirus.

diversity takes a massive ab

With the increasing spread of the Western way of life, due to the urbanization and environmental changes in the micro-organisms are threatened. The diversity decreases massively, which has an impact on chronic diseases such as obesity, Diabetes, and Asthma.

The Initiative of scientists wants to collect microorganisms in the human body, which are not affected by the use of antibiotics, consumption of highly processed foods, and other adverse influences of modern societies.

feasibility study

In a first step, the two independent Swiss companies EvalueScience and advocacy have drawn up a feasibility study. Non-profit institutions and universities that conduct research in the field of human Multiple, supported you.

The funding consortium, the Gebert Rüf Stiftung (Switzerland), the Seerave Foundation, the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Portugal), Rutgers University (USA), the University of Kiel (Germany) and the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, among others.

two-year pilot phase,

In a next step, by running the project is a two-year pilot phase, which will be used to illustrate the concept, and around a Million Swiss francs cost. As a location for a Reservoir of the human microorganisms, Switzerland is in the conversation.

The idea of such a reservoir was for the first time in 2018 in the journal Science of the initiators published. The project is supported by the world’s leading researchers, as well as two Nobel prize winners in the world, so, too, by professors of the ETH Zurich and the University hospital Zurich.

prevention of disease

researchers hope that one day it will be possible to prevent the re-introduction of the lack of micro-organisms of the diseases. However, you must have first gained in population groups with the greatest diversity, such as those in remote areas of Latin America or Africa, micro-organisms.

people in urbanized societies have lost a significant part of their diversity in microorganisms. The intestinal flora of the majority of Europeans and Americans has, for example, only one half as great diversity as those of hunters and gatherers in separate villages in the area of the Amazon.

(SDA /aru)

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