FSTDT Forums
Community => Science and Technology => Topic started by: dpareja on September 20, 2013, 12:18:33 pm
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/man-brewed-beer-in-his-gut-say-researchers-1.1861952 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/man-brewed-beer-in-his-gut-say-researchers-1.1861952)
A Texas man who stumbled into an emergency room showing signs of drunkenness has become a medical anomaly – he was diagnosed with auto-brewery syndrome.
The man was found to have a blood alcohol level of .37, five times the legal limit in Texas. Medical staff assumed he was inebriated, but the man insisted he hadn’t had one drop of alcohol all day. They were also told he had spent the past five years with bouts of intoxication that didn’t involve drinking booze.
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The patient had an infection with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a common yeast. Whenever he ingested starch — pasta, bread or soda — the yeast fermented along with the sugars, turning into ethanol.
He was brewing beer in his gut.
I find this simultaneously disgusting and cool.
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Too much of a good thing. Poor guy. But damned interesting!
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It's shit like this that makes the enlightened aliens to say "nah, we'll just leave this planet alone 'till it stops being so weird."
Yet I'm strangely fascinated.
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It's shit like this that makes the enlightened aliens to say "nah, we'll just leave this planet alone 'till it stops being so weird."
Yet I'm strangely fascinated.
Agreed, and I love your new profile pic ^_^ Lookin' good.
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It's shit like this that makes the enlightened aliens to say "nah, we'll just leave this planet alone 'till it stops being so weird."
Yet I'm strangely fascinated.
Agreed, and I love your new profile pic ^_^ Lookin' good.
Oh you. /)^3^(\
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... Gotta eat me some of that yeast.
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I'm suddenly reminded of that one episode of Futurama where Bender was brewing beer inside of himself (and generally acting pregnant while he was at it)
Still though, geez, that's gotta suck.
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This is why I'm glad my yeast infections don't usually appear in my gut.
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This cannot be healthy. And what if the yeast started making methanol instead ethanol or something? What if he would have gotten alcohol poisoning or something and been remembered as just another alcoholic who drank himself to death?
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This cannot be healthy. And what if the yeast started making methanol instead ethanol or something? What if he would have gotten alcohol poisoning or something and been remembered as just another alcoholic who drank himself to death?
Alcohol poisoning seems like a real and dangerous possibility, but I don't think methanol is. The enzyme involved (zymase) acts as a catalyst only for the specific reaction that turns sucrose into ethanol and carbon dioxide (Not a chemist, someone please correct me if I'm wrong).
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^That sounds right. Though it's been a few years since I've played with chemicals at school.
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Can't the problem be solved by killing the yeast or would it keep coming back? Would killing the yeast cause problems by also killing the normal bacteria that live in the intestines?
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It's a little difficult to specify which thing is killed in the gut. Since this isn't a common occurrence it would take a fair bit of experimentation.
At least, as far as I'm aware. I'm no Doctor. I just play one on tv.
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*Raises eyebrow* I thought you were The Master...
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Curses I've been found out.
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I know the feeling.
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I've heard of people having a case of beer gut before, but never this literally.
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I've heard of people having a case of beer gut before, but never this literally.
(http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/SkyRazor/bth_badumtsstroll.jpg)
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Someone had to say it eventually.
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I thought about it, but then I thought I'd get an E-Tomato in the face.
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I thought about it, but then I thought I'd get an E-Tomato in the face.
So, I'm not the only one? Phew.