Background:
The number of people who have irritable bowel diseases (IBDs) and the number of obese people has been increasing since the 1940s (Jin, J. et al, 2021). It has been reported that the number of people diagnosed with IBDs has consistently increased at a varied rate of 1.2% to 23.3% per year from the 1930s until 2010 (Molodecky, N. A. et al. 2012). There are many factors that could lead to this increase in IBDs and obesity diagnoses, alterations to diet, changes to culture, and a further understanding of IBDs and obesity. Irritable Bowel Diseases (IBDs) are incurable and can involve the inflammation of any part of the digestive tract (Halfvarson, J. et al. 2017). Examples are Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) (UCLA Health). Crohn’s disease involves inflammation in the digestive tract and ulcerative colitis involves inflammation in the rectum and colon (UCLA Health). Obesity can also alter levels of inflammation, and in past studies, obesity and the level of helpful versus unhelpful gut microbes have been found to match in a predictable way (Jin, J. et al, 2021. Franzosa, E.A. et al. 2019).
The Rebirth of the Guadalupe Fur Seal
Title
Genetic Consequences of a Severe Population Bottleneck in the Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi)
Background
The paper titled “the Genetic Consequences of a Severe Population Bottleneck in the Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi)” describes how genetic diversity is influenced by the sharp decline of the Guadalupe Fur Seal population in the 1700 and 1800s and the slow recovery of its population numbers.
In the 1800s the Guadalupe Fur seal declined to an extent to be considered in a population bottleneck; which is an event where a population goes through a restriction point similar to squeezing water through a narrow pipe. This event can occur naturally to different animal populations due to numerous reasons such as disease outbreak or natural disasters. In the case of the Guadalupe Fur Seal however, it was human interest that drove them to the brink of extinction.