Fecal Transplants: What Is Being Transferred?

Fecal Transplants: What Is Being Transferred?

Fecal transplants are increasingly utilized for treatment of recurrent infections (i.e., Clostridium difficile) in the human gut and as a general research tool for gain-of-function experiments (i.e., gavage of fecal pellets) in animal models. Changes observed in the recipient's biology are routinely attributed to bacterial cells in the donor feces (~1011 per gram of human wet stool). Here, we e...

P-value: What is and what is not

The misinterpretation and misuse of p-value have been increasing for decades. In March 2016, the American Statistical Association released a statement to warn about the use and interpretation of p-value. In this study, we provided a definition and discussion of p-value and emphasized the importance of its accurate interpretation.    

Leprosy: what is being "eliminated"?

Risk and rewards of fecal transplants.

many to instinctively want to wash their hands, and/or wash their hands of it. A Calgary, Alberta, doctor performs the procedure in people’s homes, to avoid administrative squabbles with local health officials. A Burnaby, British Columbia hospitalist is now embroiled in just such a dust-up with her local health authority over whether the procedure is too unproven and risky to be offered to pati...

What Is Applied Literature?

Applied literature is a term that is the outcome of a need to put literature to tangible uses in the “real” world. A medical practitioner looking for a definition of life, for instance, finds literature a useful source for the answer. With paradigm shifts in scientific studies, interdisciplinarity has been a method to overcome the alienations that resulted from the isolation of disciplines from...