Please Help Me, Unhelpful answers will be removed, I Promise that if you can assist me I will give you 50 extra points! A Brief Study of Gu ts

You may not know this, but you are home to a col ony of bacteria. You may also not know it, but the health and happiness of that colony of bacteria have a direct effect on your own health and happiness. In short, if we are what we eat, then we may need to make bacteria part of our balanced breakfast.

Microbes are single-celled organisms. They are literally everywhere. Microbes are in the air we breathe, on the surfaces of everything we touch, and inside our bodies. Microbes can be bacteria, fungi, pr ot oz oa, or viruses.

A few years ago, scientists began studying the microbial life of our stomachs. Called The American Gu t project, this study aims to understand the life of the bacteria that live in our digestive system. According to an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollan, the goal is to gather information on the types and amounts of bacteria in the human gut. Scientists want to describe what a normal healthy microbe and human relationship should look like inside our digestive system. While the research is still in the very early stages, scientists have learned the following:

The strongest and healthiest microbe systems are those with a lot of variety.
The gu ts of Americans have much less variety than the gu ts of other populations.
Diets that include a lot of processed foods support less variation in bacteria.
Studying the makeup of our individual bacteria communities will help scientists get a better idea of which bacteria help human bodies. We used to think that bacteria in our bodies were inva ders. This new research suggests that bacteria are part of the protective army that keeps us healthy. In fact, our bodies have a hard time recovering from medicines like antibiotics because they disrupt the balance of helpful bacteria. It seems clear from the early evidence that living with bacteria helps us resist inva sion from things that make us sick.

Scientists have also learned that microbes might help our gu ts do things like process vitamins and important nutrients. Some microbes may help us deal with stress, or adapt to changes. Furthermore, there may come a time—in your lifetime—when illness is treated not with antibiotics, but with extra-special microbes that help us defend our bodies from illness.

All of this new information should make us think twice about things like antibacterial soap, which gets into our water supply. While many bacteria are very dangerous, we should perhaps be careful not to eliminate the good with the bad. While we figure out how to do that, feel free to let your dog li ck your face. Rov er's microbes may just be saving your life one day.

Part A and Part B below contain one fill-in-the-blank to be used for all three question responses. Your complete response must be in the format A, B, C including the letter choice, commas, and a space after the commas.

Part A:
Which of the following best summarizes what microbes can do for us based on the text "A Brief Study of Guts"?

Fill in blank 1 using B, C, or D.
B:They help us overcome the effects of antibiotics.
C:They help process nutrients and vitamins our bodies need.
D:They work to keep our bodies healthy and resistant to disease.

Part B:
Select one quotation from the text that supports your answer to Part A. Add your selection to blank 1 using E, F, or G.

E:Microbes are in the air we breathe, on the surfaces of everything we touch, and inside our bodies.

F:Called The American Gut project, this study aims to understand the life of the bacteria that live in our digestive system.

G:This new research suggests that bacteria are part of the protective army that keeps us healthy.

Select one quotation from the text that supports your answer to Part A. Add your selection to blank 1 using H, I, or J.

H:It seems clear from the early evidence that living with bacteria helps us resist inva sion from things that make us sick.

I:While many bacteria are very dangerous, we should perhaps be careful not to elim inate the good with the bad.

J:While we figure out how to do that, feel free to let your dog lic k your face.

Answer for Blank 1: