A philosophical perspective on the prenatal in utero microbiome debate.
Microbiome
; 9(1): 5, 2021 01 12.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33436093
ABSTRACT
Within the last 6 years, a research field has emerged that focuses on the characterization of microbial communities in the prenatal intrauterine environment of humans and their putative role in human health. However, there is considerable controversy around the existence of such microbial populations. The often contentious debate is primarily focused on technical aspects of the research, such as difficulties to assure aseptic sampling and to differentiate legitimate signals in the data from contamination. Although such discussions are clearly important, we feel that the problems with the prenatal microbiome field go deeper. In this commentary, we apply a philosophical framework to evaluate the foundations, experimental approaches, and interpretations used by scientists on both sides of the debate. We argue that the evidence for a "sterile womb" is based on a scientific approach that aligns well with important principles of the philosophy of science as genuine tests of the hypothesis and multiple angles of explanatory considerations were applied. In contrast, research in support of the "in utero colonization hypothesis" is solely based on descriptive verifications that do not provide explanatory insight, which weakens the evidence for a prenatal intrauterine microbiome. We propose that a reflection on philosophical principles can inform not only the debate on the prenatal intrauterine microbiome but also other disciplines that attempt to study low-biomass microbial communities.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Filosofía
/
Útero
/
Feto
/
Microbiota
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Microbiome
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Irlanda