BACTERIA that makes YOU SMARTER

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I read about this a few months ago while I was trying to find a topic for my undergraduate seminar. So the bacteria's name is Mycobacterium vaccae, which is actually related to the tuberculosis bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. But unlike the latter, M. vaccae, which is found in the soil, can make you smarter! Imagine that! According to the article, people are exposed to the bacteria when they "spend time with nature". Now, what this bacteria does is that it increases a person's level of serotonin, which is a chemical neurotransmitter (chemical substance that sends messages or signals to the brain) that is involved with learning. The bacteria was also found to decrease the levels of anxiety. So how did they find out this cool stuff? Actually, they incorporated the heat-killed bacteria into the food of some mice. Afterwards, they put the mice in the maze. The results showed that these mice were able to navigate through the mice twice as fast as the mice that did not have the bacteria in their diet. COol huh? Also, mice whose diet involved the bacteria showed less anxiety behaviors. Again, how cool is that?? of course, before you eat soil or the bacteria itself you have to wait till further studies are done. So don't eat soil yet! haha. Maybe you can stroll around and be in touch with nature more these days. There's no harm in doing that right? (except maybe you will have a higher chance of having an encounter with a grizzly bear. Ha! just kidding). Who knows? You might just be able to get the A+ you've wanted since the first grade! What do you think?