Renowned expert to present latest research on gut microbes at EICC

Public Event: 1830- 1930, Wednesday 31 March 2010, Edinburgh International Conference Centre

Trillions and trillions of bacteria live in the human gut. The thought of all these invisible inhabitants inside you might be yucky, but without them we would not be here at all. Which microbes reside in our gut? Are they harmful? Where do they come from? What do they actually do deep in our bowels? Do pre- or pro- biotics affect them?

Professor Glenn Gibson is a world expert on the microbial life that lives in our intestines. He will be at the Society for General Microbiology's spring conference at the EICC on Wednesday 31 March to answer all these questions and more.

Many of the bacteria in the gut are good guys. They play an important role in digestion, providing us with vitamins, and protecting us from harmful pathogens. As Glenn Gibson says, "They play a vital role in ensuring we are healthy and by taking care with what we eat, our diet can help these microbes keep us fit."

On the downside, some types of gut microbes play an important role in the development of nasty diseases. We are all familiar with a bout of the trots after eating unwisely on holiday. "Most of us get at least one episode of gastro-enteritis in our lives and quickly recover, but certain food poisoning microbes like E. coli O157 can kill", says Glenn, "Up to a quarter of all people are believed to be affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with its symptoms of bloating, pain and diarrhoea."

Professor Gibson will take a look at the latest research into the ways bacteria are involved in these unpleasant conditions, as well as rarer serious complaints like colorectal cancer and ulcerative colitis.

What can we do to improve the chances of the good microbes surviving inside us and defeating the bad guys? Sales of probiotics and prebiotics are on the increase and the producers would have us believe that regularly eating these 'functional foods' is the answer. But is this just advertising hype? Glenn Gibson is the man who knows and he will give an honest appraisal of their effects on our gut health. Finally, he will divulge his latest findings into a novel prebiotic currently being trialled.