I was wondering about how the bacteria in our intestines got there. Were we born with the bacteria already in the intestines? If not, how’d it get there?
Louie: young guy, possibly a bit green, but smart as paint. - Greg Charles
Damn! The aliens must not have sterilized their anal probes again…
I don’t know off the top of my head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we were born with the bacteria there. After all, we already know the same kind of bacteria are in the mother. If we’re not, then I would guess that we eat the bacteria when we consume food or maybe even mother’s milk. They can survive in our internal environment. Although probably not all of them make it the first time.
“Eat your bacteria!”
“But I don’t want to!”
“Listen, there are starving kids in China who would kill for your bacteria. Now eat it!”
-Steve
“Banned by the Space Pope”
You have obviously never seen a child who was crawling and teething at the same time. Everything goes in their mouths and the only things they can reach are on the floor.
AFAIK, the g.i. tract is bacteria-free in a fetus or a newborn. You ingest the bacteria in the normal course of your life. Although most foods are carefully kept clean during processing, some foods, notably yoghurt, contain bacteria as a finished product, and bacteria are essentially omnipresent in anything less than a sterile environment. You could, I suppose, become a bubble boy and avoid contamination if it was necessary, but it’s not and you don’t.
In fact, it’s usually a good idea to establish a healthy intestinal flora while you’re still young. Babies have immune systems tuned to deal with it and mother’s milk also boosts their immune capability. (Of course, mom’s nipples are a good source of bacteria, too.) Just guessing, but maybe if you wait too long to get started with your symbionts it may be a rough ride. Kinda like getting the mumps as a grownup–much worse than as a kid.
Of course your first kiss introduces you to a whole new host of critters. What? You thought love was an emotional condition? Nope. Just a physical reaction to foreign bacteria.
“I used to think the brain was the most important organ in the body, until I realized who was telling me that.”
Emo Phillips
I can’t say much about human intestinal flora but I can vouch for how baby elephants get theirs…
THEY EAT THEIR MOMMIES’ DOODY!!!
Saw it on a nature program and nearly barfed. Just glad we’re not evolved from elephants, is all I gotta say.
[/hijack]
All I wanna do is to thank you, even though I don’t know who you are…
Not to mention Dad’s bacteria as well…
Knock softly but firmly, 'cause I like soft firm knockers…
I don’t think so, Louie, I remember seeing a nurse giving a baby a vitamin K shot in a delivery room and asking or being told about it.
K is the blood clotting vitamin and they give babies the shots because they don’t have it or don’t have enough.
And E. coli is the intestinal bacteria that makes vitamin K for us.
Now if the E. coli make the vitamin or the preliminary form of vitamin K or the half form of… I don’t know.
As far as I know it is the only time the babies are given this injection so they must get intestinal flora and fauna pretty quickly on their own.
Are you driving with your eyes open or are you using The Force? - A. Foley
So where did the E. coli come from?
Louie: young guy, possibly a bit green, but smart as paint. - Greg Charles
E coli gets established in the babies gut long before their able to grab things and stuff them in their mouth. I’ve never been a parent, but I do know that newborn babies have different kind (texture, smell) of shit than other people. This is a sign that their intestinal flora has not completely established itself yet.
Where does the E coli come from? Yes, the mother’s nipple is a source, as is the birth canal, I believe. But even if the baby is delivered by C-section and raised on non-dairy formula (milk often has some in it), the baby still gets it from other sources, such as the parent’s hands.
Look at it this way: E coli is one of the most common bacteria on earth and it would be virtually impossible for a baby not to acquire it.
Dan Tilque
Yep, what he asid.
Are you driving with your eyes open or are you using The Force? - A. Foley
According to one of my old biology professors, a newborn does not have any bacteria in their intestines upon birth. However, the bacteria usually start to move in about 10 minutes later. Also, it doesn’t matter where you’re born, no matter how clean. They will find you, and move in, and never leave.
I can’t provide a cite other than the fact that a biology PhD told me so.
“A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.” – George Bernard Shaw
E. coli is everywhere? Great, now I can’t sleep. 
Anyways, thank you all for letting me know about how those little buggers got in there.
Louie
Good thing, too. We’d die pretty quick otherwise. You know how some antibiotics have upset stomach and diarreah listed as side effects? That’s cause some E. coli get knocked out and your digestion ain’t as good as it used to be.
Love the bugs.