[Story] Girl Born in 2039

Originally submitted for a Tec Prize which was via the challenge site Herox.com, I put it here for anyone to read. I did not win but it was a good experience.

Girl Born in 2039

I had lived a privilege life. The only nightmare that I ever saw was in virtual reality games and when they became too horrifying I could always disconnect and watch a comedy. It took the end of the world to snatch the veil from in front of face. I felt and saw for the first time what most of my fellow humans endured almost every single day – a society where the amount of money not only determined your social status but also your health and basic human rights. I laughed sadly as I dug into my pockets and pulled out the only money I had which was barely six dollars. A US dollar was mostly worthless these days so unless I steal again I would die from hunger.

The start of the downfall of my life began surprisingly enough on graduation day. The beginning never anticipated a tragedy. The year was 2057 and I was about to graduate from high school. I live in a world where we have virtual reality worlds, artificial intelligence, personal flying vehicles, self-driving cars, quantum computers and full-body tissue engineering. This is not to mention the space hotels in low earth orbit which even the average middle class citizen can afford to spend a few days. It was even cheaper than flying to Fiji sometimes. The first fully underwater city off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has also just been built last year. We, China, and Russia all have permanent settlements on the moon though a trip there was still beyond the price tag of most folks. We don’t have a presence on Mars yet but we do have an advance research base. I do feel that this is a wondrous time to be alive.

[Health] Guts and Brain

This article was originally submitted for a writing contest held by billionaire Naveen Jain's bio company Viome.

The idiom “you are what you eat” may be based more on reality than you might think. Scientific research is beginning to better understand the connection between bacteria in the digestive system and its impact on the neurological system. Metazoans, such as humans, are significantly affected by gut bacteria (known as microbiota) in critical aspects of our physiology – notably our brain through metabolism and the immune system. The human body contains trillions of microorganisms – outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1 – with many of them being in our gut starting from the esophagus and ending in the colon.

Microbiota regulates the metabolism of humans through generating a concoction of essential vitamins and other nutrients for the host. Upon consuming complex carbohydrates, microbiota metabolize the fiber into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate. SCFAs produced in our intestines travel not only into our blood serum but these fatty acids can also cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). One particular SCFA –acetate—affects changes in the hypothalamus, altering physiology, which leads to hormone signals being produced which give a sense of satiety. A small study with humans has shown that consuming such complex carbohydrates leads to feeling full.