Microbiomania

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I love microbiome research.  I have been doing it for 10+ years.  Microbiomes are both incredibly interesting and important.  They play roles in all sorts of aspects of the planet including many aspects of the biology of multicellular organisms like plants and animals.  And I personally believe that we will find more and more important connections between microbiomes and the health and well being of plants, animals, other organisms, and ecosystems.

However many people oversell the microbiome (something I call "microbiomania") and misrepresent what we know about it now.  Here are some posts on this topic.

Posts tagged "overselling the microbiome"
Posts tagged "overselling the microbiome award"

Direct Links to Overselling the Microbome Awards and Related Posts

1. October 31, 2018. And today in #microbiomania (aka overselling the microbiome) - ridiculous claim from Raphael Kellman's book marketing group
2. March 26, 2018. Retraction of paper on "Gut Makeover Diet" and the microbiome retracted for fundamental flaws including that it did not in any way look at the microbiome #overselling #hype #microbiomania 
3. October 9, 2017. Offensive overselling of the #microbiome in breast cancer from the Cleveland Clinic
4. July 22, 2017. Today in misleading, dangerous, overselling of the microbiome - UNC on babies and cognitive development
5. July 4, 2017. Human microbiome studies really are oversold, new study suggests #UCLA #Microbiomania
6. June 30, 2017. Thank you Gizmodo and Ryan Mandelbaum for anti-poop-doping story
7. June 28, 2017. More awful reporting on the "poop doping" claimed by Dr. Lauren Peterson
8. June 21, 2017: Irresponsible reporting on "poop doping" from the Washington Post
9. June 12, 2017: Kudos to Bicycling Magazine for pedaling so so so much overselling of the microbiome
10. May 1, 2017: Overselling the microbiome award: Marie Claire for its "article" on Mother Dirt
11. March 9, 2017: Kissing between humans and Neanderthals? Could be oral - anal contact too. Or neither.
12. July 22, 2016. Today's misleading overselling the #microbiome - U. Chicago on Alzheimer's and gut microbes
13. July 14, 2016. Overselling the Microbiome Award for @nytimes on thumb sucking, nail biting protecting from allergy
14. July 10, 2016. Today in Overselling the #microbiome: Lick-hiker's guide to Inner Strength
15. December 31, 2015. Microbiomania and Fecal Transplants
16. September 08, 2015. Today's awful overselling of the microbiome - Robynne Chutkan on libido
17. August 12, 2015. TWIMO: This week in microbiome overselling - how the microbiome destroyed the Ego, Vaccine Policy, and Patriarchy
18. July 26, 2015. Possibly the worst press release on the microbiome ever: Greenlaw and Ruggiero and the third brain.
19. May 27, 2015. Overselling the mcirobiome award: Dr Roizen's Preventative and Integrative Medicine Conference
20. March 14, 2015 Overselling the microbiome award: Dr. Raphael Kellman at MindBodyGreen
21. March 14, 2015 Some silly microbome ideas from @DeepakChopra and @rudytanzi
22. February 15, 2015 Overselling the microbiome award: CBC Fresh Air & JA Tetro on kissing microbiomes
23. January 1, 2015. Really shameful overselling the microbiome from the American Society for Microbiology regarding lupus.
24. December 6, 2014 Some history of hype regarding the human genome project and genomics
25. October 30, 2014 Rediscovering some critical terms of use in microbial discussions: #microbiomania and #microbophobia
26. August 26, 2014: Overselling the Microbiome Award: The Microbiome Diet Book
27. June 10, 2014: Please make it stop - overselling the microbiome award for rugby, exercise, microbiome stories 
28. May 23, 2014: Overselling the microbiome award - many - for stories about placental vs. oral microbiomes
29. May 1, 2014: Overselling the microbiome award: Time Magazine & Martin Blaser for "antibiotics are extinguishing our microbiome" 
30. April 27, 2014: Overselling the microbiome award: Mercola/Perlmutter onfecal transplants for severe neurological dysfunction
31. April 9, 2014: And in non shocking news of the day - more overselling of the microbiome
32. March 12, 2014: Overselling the microbiome award of the week: Science News on "Bacteria that Trigger Crohn's"
33. January 27, 2014: Winner of the biggest & best overselling of the microbiome -@theallium on Salmonella Diet
34. January 21, 2014: Overselling the microbiome story of the week: aging in fruit flies vs humans
35. November 03, 2013: Short post- a bad taste in my mouth for overselling the microbiome
36. August 30, 2013: Overselling the microbiome award: Swiss National Science Foundation on smoking, weight gain and bacteria
37. August 28, 2013 Overselling the microbiome award: VIB press release saying "Intestinal flora determines health of obese people"
38. July 03, 2013: Lies, damn lies, and press releases - trouble with recent PR about autism and microbiomes
39. March 25, 2013: First multiple "Overselling the microbiome award": the Daily Mail article on Germs
40. January 19, 2013: Overselling the microbiome: University Bern press release uses slight of hand to make mouse study seem to be about people
41. December 11, 2012: Award: Ridiculous, absurd, offensive overselling of the microbiome from Chalmers & Gothenburg
42. November 10, 2012: Overselling the microbiome award of the month: Integrative medical group of Irvine
43. October 22, 2012: Today's "Overselling the microbiome award" Crohn's Disease and Bacteria
44. September 10, 2012: Overselling the microbiome award: MedicalDaily on Effects of Sugary Drink
45. August 19, 2012: The microbiome in the news: risk of overselling but not always bad coverage
46. May 27, 2012: Dubious Press Release from Cedars-Sinai linking Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Bacteria in Gut
47. March 30, 2012: Overselling the microbiome award: Scientists look to mummies for obesity cure
48. March 14, 2012: Diabetes & H.pylori - a correlation but no known causation despite authors claims
49. September 19, 2010: Probiotic use spreading, lots of money being made, known benefits still murky
50. September 12, 2010: Probiotics are the new viagra & the risks of overselling of probiotics
51. August 25, 2010: Overselling the microbiome award #2: The Marshall Protocol
52. August 18, 2010: Overselling the microbiome award: Stephen Barrie on pre and probiotics at the Huffington Post

Other links of relevance with discussions of microbiome hype

• November 2021. WSJ podcast on uBiome.
• June 2017. Kevin Loria Companies are trying to use your DNA and bacteria to give you personalized diet advice — here's what the science says
• May 17, 2017. Elisabeth Bik on Microbiome Summit. 
• May 5, 2017. Our microbiome: Separating hype from health repost of blog by Nicholas Staropoli.
• March 6, 2017. Aaron Carroll in the NY Times. Exciting Microbe Research? Temper That Giddy Feeling in Your Gut
• November 21, 2016. Fred Hutch News: Separating snake oil from certainty: 
• November 2016. Festival of Genomics California - live blog
• September 2016. Rob Waters in STAT. This microbiologist loves bugs, hates hype — and wants you to send ...
• August 2016. Fresh Air interview with Ed Yong. Eating Yogurt Is Not Enough: Rebalancing The Ecosystem Of 'The Microbes Within Us'
• May 2016. Bangor Daily News. Jennifer Suttles and Susan Duong. Good bacteria, bad bacteria and the bacteria we like to think make us fat
• May 2016. Christie Aschwanden in STAT. How the gut affects your mood. 
• March 7, 2016. Kevin Senapathy in Forbes: Keep Calm And Avoid Microbiome Mayhem
• January 25, 2016. Emma Bryce. Do probiotics cure asthma? Don't believe the hype
• September 2015. Mina Kim KQED Show. Microbiomes Extend Beyond Gut Into World Around Us, Research ...
• Nicholette Zeliadt. Nov. 18 2015. Gut feeling: How microbes shape autism
• April 2015. John Swansburg in NY Mag. The Scientists Who Want to Fix America's Intestines Started With ...
• April 2015. Beth Skwarecki in Life Hacker.  Beyond Probiotics: Can You 'Hack' Your Microbiome?
• February 2, 2015. The Human Microbiome and Media Confusion
• December 2014. Jonathan Eisen. Has the Human Genome Project lived up to hype?
• October 2014. Gabrielle Canon in Mother Jones. Sorry, Your Gut Bacteria Are Not the Answer to All Your Health ...
• August 2014. William P. Hanage in Nature. Microbiology: Microbiome science needs a healthy dose of scepticism
• June 2014. Alexandra Sifferlin in Time. Exercise Helps Your Gut Bacteria: Amazing, Overblown, or Plain ...