There's bacteria in the placenta, similar to those in mouth. But the oral hygiene msg seems hugely premature to me. http://t.co/WfVWfMpCT4
— Ed Yong (@edyong209) May 21, 2014
I looked at the article and definitely agreed with Ed. So I responded
well @edyong209 that is not the only issue w/ that article
— Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics) May 21, 2014
And then a mini conversation happened
@phylogenomics Tell me more.
— Ed Yong (@edyong209) May 21, 2014
I think @edyong209 @phylogenomics are right, and besides lots of more testable good reasons to brush your teeth before bed.
— Nick Loman (@pathogenomenick) May 21, 2014
@phylogenomics Is it the implicit assumption that the presence of bacteria in the placenta is a bad thing? Cos that annoyed me too
— Ed Yong (@edyong209) May 21, 2014
well @edyong209 1) is this a living microbiome or just DNA? 2) adaptationism in giving "purpose" 3) no mention of prior work
— Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics) May 21, 2014
@phylogenomics @edyong209 Re point 3, from 9 months ago-- http://t.co/o79GA2QbUC
— carlzimmer (@carlzimmer) May 21, 2014
.@phylogenomics @edyong209 given human history and oral health, if impacts pregnancy so much, how are any humans still alive and reproducing
— Dr. SPONCH (@SponchPhD) May 21, 2014
@edyong209 @phylogenomics bacteria are bad everywhere right?
— Vincent J. Lynch (@VinJLynch) May 21, 2014
And I pondered writing up an "overselling the microbiome award" but I got caught up in other things. And then today some people (including Jens Walter) pointed me to this New York Times article about the same topic: Study Sees Bigger Role for Placenta in Newborns’ Health - NYTimes.com. And I decided I had to write something up because too many news stories were not doing a great job with the science here.
