Off with their Heads!

I've written before about a possible beneficial side effect to circumcision - the reduction in HIV infection risk.

In an effort to identify other changes in circumcised penises (other than the obvious), and to drum up business for the local mohel, scientists have examined differences in the penis microbiome in a recent paper published in PLoS ONE. They conclude:

The anoxic microenvironment of the subpreputial space may support pro-inflammatory anaerobes that can activate Langerhans cells to present HIV to CD4 cells in draining lymph nodes. Thus, the reduction in putative anaerobic bacteria after circumcision may play a role in protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

While the main thrust of the paper is the reason for the previously mentioned HIV risk reduction, there are some other interesting outcomes for the reduced numbers of an anoxic environment and the corresponding bacteria. Mike the Mad Biologist has more:

This seems to be a much more compelling finding: circumcision might reduce bacterial vaginosis. While bacterial vaginosis isn't dangerous except in very limited circumstances, it still is a nuisance. To me, that's the compelling finding, although vaginas probably make news editors giggle, so that's probably why vaginosis wasn't covered.

Somehow I still don't think people will be queueing up...

Religion in science

After doing a quick search for jesus on pubmed I came across a lot more abstract than I anticipated. To my surprise I even found some christian medical journals such as JCN. My favorite abstract about jesus has to be this one:

"PURPOSE: We study the controversies manifested in religious writings, art, sculpture and music as well as the theological disputes surrounding the circumcision of Jesus Christ. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data are derived from relevant historical and theological articles. RESULTS: Jesus Christ was circumcised as a Jew on the 8th day after his birth. Until 1960 the Catholic church celebrated the day as Circumcision Day. In medieval times the holy foreskin was worshipped in many European churches. CONCLUSIONS: Christianity never condoned the ritual of circumcision and established the sacrament of baptism in its place."

Also interresting is the number of abstract about mormons, mostly because of their special medical needs. I was surprised to learn for example, that mormons have lower incidences of heart and lung diseases as well as MS. Perhaps as a side effect of polygamy .

But more interrestingly I discovered that when swarms of mormon crickets start to run out of food, there is a salt and protein deficiency treshold that sets off cannibalistic behavior. The perfect plot for 28 years later...