New Delhi:
Do yo still remember things that you were taught in the school about the human body and its 'vestigial' parts? According to a new study it has been found that the human appendix, which is believed to be of a little use to the body, may become a reservoir for beneficial gut bacteria.
The human appendix has a tendency to become appendicitis, which usually needs to be removed by surgery.
Researchers from the Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in the US gathered data on the presence or absence of appendix and other gastrointestinal and environmental traits for 533 mammal species.
After mapping the data like a genetic tree in order to track how appendix came to existence, and determined why some species have an appendix while others don't.
The researchers discovered that the appendix evolved independently in several mammal lineages never disappears from a lineage once it appears. This suggests that the appendix likely serves an adaptive purpose.
They found out that species with an appendix have higher average concentrations of lymphoid (immune) tissue in the caecum. Lymphatic tissue can stimulate growth of some types of beneficial gut bacteria.
