Interpreting the Microbiome from the perspective of market biology
Market biology also know as Biological Market Theory
To even begin this discussion I will start reintroducing a concept I discussed prior which is called biological market theory.
According to the theory the organisms of life apply the same principles we see in markets. In markets we can think of biological entities as traders who exchange goods such as food, shelter, gametes or services such as warning calls, protection, pollination.
The Microbiome from a biological market perspective
The microbiome are in my opinion a market. We do not yet understand the interaction of these markets because there are trillions of trades going on between these organisms. Their trades however influence everything about us, including our thinking, our health, etc. We know for example that probiotics in studies have been shown to influence the functioning of the brain. We know from studies that a Gut Brain Axis exists where neurotransmitters such as serotonin are modulated.
Some gut bacteria are shown to be beneficial. In fact some gut bacteria have go-evolved along with us for many many years. We provide a service for these micro-organisms (we are a home for these bacteria), and these beneficial bacteria stay with us as long as our bodies are beneficial to them (in their interest). The philosophical interpretation of this even dips into whether or not there is free will? Do you make your decisions or do your gut bacteria influence your brain chemistry to alter your behavior?
The computational complexity to analyze the microbiome is going to be a challenge in my opinion. The possible interactions between micro organisms which number in the trillions may even be technically not feasible for us to decipher. At the same time we are building a rough taxonomy of microorganisms in the gut and we have now an idea of what some of the beneficial bacteria are. We know probiotics have some effect because we studied those particular bacteria over enough time but the precise interactions are still currently being studied and this is a new wave of potential discoveries.
New waves of discoveries are economic opportunities in my opinion. Just as the crypto space opened an opportunity for people to discover new solutions it may also be the case with probiotics and microbiome research. The market biology perspective in my opinion is a creative way to interpret the behavior of these organisms by seeing the different organisms in an economic model with behaviors which are self serving which may as a side effect be beneficial to our health.
References
- Noë, R., & Hammerstein, P. (1994). Biological markets: supply and demand determine the effect of partner choice in cooperation, mutualism and mating. Behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 35(1), 1-11.
- https://sites.google.com/site/ronaldnoe/markets-main
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpathogenic_organisms
- https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/05/30/more-evidence-that-autism-is-linked-to-gut-bacteria
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