#diabetes #obesity : the role of a new virus found in the guts of half the population!

The latest news: researchers at San Diego State University have stumbled onto a very old but previously undiscovered type of intestinal virus that may play a role in the development of diseases like diabetes and obesity. The researchers are calling the virus "crAssphage." Once they figured out where to find it, crAssphage turned up so often that the study authors say more than half of all people are likely walking around with it in their bellies. The fact that the virus is so common means it’s likely very old—maybe even as old as the human race, the authors suggest.  

Our intestines are full of bacteria, and we need them to help digest food and adsorb nutrients; phages like crAssphage control the growth of bacteria by infecting them and killing them, just like wolves control the populations of hares and deer.  

Two of the most common bacteria in the intestines are called Bacteroides and Firmicutes. The ratio of these two may have important implications for human health—especially when it comes to obesity and diabetes. Because crAssphage may infect both of these types of bacteria, it could also have a part in the development of those diseases.

For the future, identifying crAssphage could be a very important first step when it comes to developing new gut bacteria-based medical treatments that could one day be used to help diabetics and others with intestine-related health issues. Unfortunately, those types of gut-based treatments are still about 5 years away from lab or clinical trials.