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A comment on The ovary doesn't retire after menopause.

Re:The ovary doesn't retire after menopause by catoc on Tuesday October 20, 2026 @01:19AM (#50161645)
”most people assume those ovaries are just sitting there doing nothing, similar to the appendix,” said co-corresponding author

In reality the appendix vermiformis serves as a reservoir for gut bacteria (useful), and possibly supports the immune system

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Re:The ovary doesn't retire after menopause by adrian_b on Tuesday October 20, 2026 @05:25AM (#50163408)
True, but this has become much less important for humans than for their ancestors, because a large part of what humans eat is nutrient-dense and easy to digest, so that does not rely on the help from gut bacteria.

Thus many humans may live most of their lives without their appendix, without any serious consequences.

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Re:The ovary doesn't retire after menopause by catoc on Tuesday October 20, 2026 @05:55AM (#50163637)
The gut microbiome has importance far beyond digestion - even for humans consuming nutrient-dense food.

[example source: https://gut.bmj.com/content/71/5/1020]

[note: human use of em-dash; no LLMs here]

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Re:The ovary doesn't retire after menopause by sfjailbird on Tuesday October 20, 2026 @06:00AM (#50163682)
Understanding of the role of the gut microbiome is continually being expanded. It is resposible for a lot of important hormones, for example. It goes way beyond digestion.
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