Poopy Love Story (and Another Biome Breakthrough)

This is the most charming love story ❤️. Imagine falling in love with someone who is suffering (and I mean that in the true sense of the word “suffering”) from bipolar disorder and bouts of psychosis, doing research on your own to find a possible solution, experimenting and then finding a durable cure. Imagine that!

And it all comes down to poo 💩.

It is truly fascinating, and I urge you to watch for yourself:

Another Biome Breakthrough!

Check out this amazing research from the University of Florida and Trinity College Dublin:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250821004244.htm

Queuosine is a rare micronutrient crucial for brain health, memory, stress response, and cancer defense. It is “a vitamin-like micronutrient that we can’t make ourselves but can only get from food and our gut bacteria.”

“For over 30 years, scientists have suspected that there had to be a transporter for this nutrient, but no one could find it,” said Valérie de Crécy-Lagard, a UF/IFAS microbiology and cell science distinguished professor and department associate chair, as well as one of the study’s principal investigators. “We’ve been hunting for it for a long time. This discovery opens up a whole new chapter in understanding how the microbiome and our diet can influence the translation of our genes.”

Very iteresting! We are starting to map the microbiota.

Magpie

I named this blog The Cancer Canary, but lately I feel more like a magpie, collecting little bits of info and trying to piece together a bigger picture.

Check out this article in the June issue of Scientific American. It’s about the immune system and UV exposure. Mostly, it is about how plain old 🌞 sunshine can help those who suffer from muscular sclerosis and other auto-immune disorders. However, there are implications for cancer patients as well, as many cancers begin with inflammation.

Surprising Ways That Sunlight Might Heal Autoimmune Diseases | Scientific American

https://share.google/pBPdI6tGG2qqelzym


I came across another article recently about lidocaine being used to induce apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Apoptosis is the programmed cell death that should kill off old and damaged cells. Somehow, it switches off when a person develops cancer, and cells that should die off stop dying off.

This research is drawing a link between this simple topical numbing agent and the ability to trigger cell death. Amazing!

“Lidocaine’s distinct bitter taste arises from its activation of a taste receptor known as T2R14, a receptor found in high concentrations in various cancer cells, particularly those in the head and neck. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania postulated that lidocaine may interact with cancer cells through this receptor.”

Researchers Find the Mechanism Behind Potential Anticancer Properties in Lidocaine


And here’s one from Consumer Reports on how to avoid microplastics:

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/health-wellness/how-to-eat-less-plastic-microplastics-in-food-water-a8899165110/