Fruit Flies Improve Human Lives

         Fruit flies are at it again! The University of California, Los Angeles conducted a new study that could possible delay the decline in health and age. They researched the infamous question, "Why do some people remain healthy into their 80's and beyond, while others age faster and suffer serious diseases decades earlier?" This study suggests that the answer lying behind health outcomes and again can be found by analyzing intestinal bacteria. So where do the fruit flies come in?
        Since scientists know all the genes in fruit flies and how to turn certain ones on and off, fruit flies qualify as a "perfect lab rat". Scientists found that they can also detect the bacterial changes in their intestines.  A good portion of the flies were given antibiotics to reduce the level of bacteria in their intestines, whereas the remaining flies did not have a reduction in bacteria. The fruit flies with lower bacteria levels in their intestines were found to live a longer life with improved intestinal function.
        A fruit fly's immune response increases when its intestine begins to leak. The same immune activation correlates with human age-related diseases. Just think, more studies like this one could delay diseases that come with age such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancers, and so many other detrimental illnesses. To get the full story, visit this link!

       I think this study is the start to what could be a huge breakthrough in keeping humans healthier longer. More studies that reach to improve human health could help the human population be healthier as a whole and could take away the physical and mental pain that people diagnosed with aging diseases have to encounter. My only concerns by keeping humans around longer are when will it be too long of a life for us and how long will it take before the human population becomes simply unbearable?