Gut Bacteria from Wild Mice Boost Health in Lab Mice

Mice’s gut bacteria experiments and disease research

Mice’s gut bacteria experiments may be used to explore the persistent disease research problem. The immune system is responsible for fighting diseases and thus determines the health outcomes from exposure to diseases causing microorganisms. This paper is a review and a critique of “Gut bacteria from wild mice boost health in lab mice” article by Rosshart et al. (2017).

The hypothesis of the research

The hypothesis of the research states that “laboratory mice experiments are limited in their utility for understanding complex diseases in living organisms despite being vital in understanding biological phenomena.” Introduction of wild mice gut bacteria to laboratory mice increases the chances of survival from deadly flu viruses as compared to laboratory mice with their self-synthesized gut bacteria. However, the natural environment is different from the laboratory environment affecting the level of exposure and consequently the response mechanism to various diseases. The laboratory environments relatively controlled ensuring that test subjects possess predictable characteristics and genetics. However, laboratory mice biological phenomena are limited in predicting and modeling of complex diseases in free-living organisms (Rosshart et al., 2017).

The scientific method and its limitations

The scientific method is initiated by observation of a given phenomenon of interest to a researcher. Data is then collected by use of the various data collection mechanisms including questionnaires, interviews among others. The response provided by research respondents is used to formulate a research hypothesis. An experiment is then carried out with the intention of confirming or opposing the hypothesis. Experimental data collected is then analyzed, interpreted and reported.

In the research under review, the scientific research method was followed but some loose ends that are contrary to the original intent of the study are evident. The results of the survey confirm that fewer laboratory mice survived the flu virus as compared to the wild mice. The findings are contrary to the hypothesis. Data supporting that the immune system boost of the laboratory or wild mice provides closer results to free-living organisms including humans is lacking. The lack of the correlation data is an experimental process miss-step. For the research to be complete, the researchers needed to do a more intensive study. For example, a test group should have been set aside to test factor findings variations.

Error and misconceptions in the research

The research also contains erroneous data that was neither thoroughly tested nor explained. The results of the study indicated that mice with wild microbes had a better health outcome with not only the flu virus but also with other diseases (Cell Press 2017). The misconception is an indication that tests lacked clear reasoning. Despite confirming that wild mice have a better immune system, it does not explore the gap between mice and other organism’s response to the same disease. The author concludes that the mice are more responsive to complex diseases but fail to explore the limitations in predicting and modeling diseases in other organisms.

Updating the research process

After several generations, it is expected that a new breed of mice with the wild mice gut bacteria genetics would result. It is therefore not logical to use the same research process and expect identical results. The research process and resources should therefore be periodically updated to guarantee more accurate results. For example, a more improved video card and monitor upgrade should have been installed in the computers used in data analysis to give better pictures.

References

Cell Press. (2017). Gut bacteria from wild mice boost health in lab mice. Science Daily. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171019143012.htm on September 6, 2018.

 Rosshart, S. P., Vassallo, B. G., Angeletti, D., Hutchinson, D. S., Morgan, A. P., Takeda, K., ... & Trinchieri, G. (2017). Wild mouse gut microbiota promotes host fitness and improves disease resistance. Cell, 171(5), 1015-1028.