Bacteria R Us: How bacteria affect our health, both the good and the bad
Cost:
$ 10.00 per personDuration:
1h 30minAbout this experience
Wednesdays, 1:00 – 2:30 pm
October 28 – November 18
The trillions of microbes that live on and in our bodies have profound effects on our health. Some bacteria have the potential to cause infections, which can be treated with antibiotics (unless the infecting bacteria have developed resistance to the antibiotics, which is happening more and more often). In contrast, other types of bacteria form a stable population within our bodies that benefits our health in many ways. In recent years, researchers have found that the microbiome, which is the entire population of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live within us, has unexpected and varied effects on the ways that our bodies function. There’s great interest in the possibility that manipulating the microbiome could increase some of those beneficial effects and promote better health, although there’s much that we don’t yet know.
Week 1: What are bacteria, and why do some of them cause human diseases, but others have only beneficial effects?
Week 2: The crisis of antibiotic resistance. What strategies are being developed to combat antibiotic-resistant infections?
Week 3: What is the microbiome and how does it affect human health? What is the gut-brain axis?
Week 4: Is it possible to manipulate the microbiome to enhance its benefits for our health? Can probiotics, prebiotics, or fecal transplants shift the composition of the microbiome towards greater health-promotion?
Refund Policy
To receive a refund, a written request must be received 3 business days before the first class. A $25 processing fee will be deducted from the refund. Cancellation requests received less than 3 business days before the first class but before the second meeting will receive a 50% refund.
ALL written requests should be emailed to emeritus@spartanstrategiesinc.org or mailed to the address below.
Spartan Strategies, Inc.
Attn: Emeritus Society
5900 Summit Avenue, #201
Browns Summit, NC 27214
Your Host
Janne Cannon (Ph.D., UNC-Chapel Hill) is a Professor Emerita of Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research and teaching at UNC-CH focused on genetics and infectious diseases. After retiring from UNC-CH, she taught a course for several years on “Plagues” for undergraduates in the Honors Program at UNCG; she also teaches courses on science and health for the Shepherd’s Center and the UNCG Emeritus Society.
Rob Cannon (Ph.D., University of Delaware) is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at UNCG. His research and teaching were focused on microbiology, immunology, and virology. He also taught for the Honors Program and was graduate director for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) Program. This fall will mark 51 years of teaching at UNCG for him. He’s a private pilot and dreams of being the Chief Test Passenger for Boom Supersonic when they come to Greensboro.