An article from Science Daily today:
http://www.scienceda...00524143416.htm
Matthews and Jenks fed live bacteria to mice and assessed their ability to navigate a maze compared to control mice that were not fed the bacteria.
"We found that mice that were fed live M. vaccae navigated the maze twice as fast and with less demonstrated anxiety behaviors as control mice," says Matthews.
In a second experiment the bacteria were removed from the diet of the experimental mice and they were retested. While the mice ran the maze slower than they did when they were ingesting the bacteria, on average they were still faster than the controls.
Interesting concept, suggesting that those of us whole intake common bacteria in soil may experience increased learning capabilities and decreased anxiety.
Reminds me of a futurama episode where Fry eats a infected hamburger out of a vending machine...but anyway.