[neilep (OP)]

I know this is a rather ' crap ' post but when we defecate...we are getting rid of waste that our bodies don't want yes ?..because it is not good for us !


Then.....why is it such a source of goodness (like rotting foods of all types) to flies ?
Do other insects and lifeforms live off it ?...or is just an egg laying facility ?...which then the grub then consumes !!

I know manure is good for plants but not human/dog/cat ? waste yes ?


How did certain species evolves to dine on the waste products of other animals ?

[Seany]

Hmm.. Some of the things in our "poop" aren't always completely digested. Sorry to say sick things, but sometimes when I look at my thing.. lol, I see bits of things floating around, which I realised was Grapefruit bits, from eating grapefruit alot. (Dad recently bought a couple of boxes of grapefruit and I love them.) Because I don't chew them alot, and just swallow most of the time, they don't digest very well and just come straight out.

Maybe the animals that live on it, only eat those bits of our poop? The bits which are still healthy and edible.

Coming to think of it, why do the Grapefruit bits not digest in our stomach? Surely the acids in our stomach should grind it all down with the enzymes?

[another_someone]

We all live off the waste of other living organisms.

The most obvious example of this is oxygen, which is the waste product of plants.

What is waste to one species is simply that which is either toxic to that species, or the species is no longer able to process any value from that substance.  Another species often has the ability to neutralise the toxins, or to obtain value from the substance through biological pathways not available to the species that considered the thing to be waste.

Since many humans will burn animal dung for fuel, it clearly has lots of energy left in it, simply not necessarily in a way that our digestive tracts can extract it.

[Seany]

And once again, my master of knowledge out-boffins me! Great answer.

[another_someone]

Coming to think of it, why do the Grapefruit bits not digest in our stomach? Surely the acids in our stomach should grind it all down with the enzymes?

Acids and enzymes are different things.

As you say, our stomach contains hydrochloric acid, but digestion actually starts with the enzymes in one's saliva.

Different enzymes and acids will attack different components in the food, but there is always going to be something in the food that none of the available arsenal of tools available to our intestines can break down.  If this were not so, then none of the drugs we swallow would ever work, because they would all be broken down in the intestines.

[DrDick]

Actually, digestion starts when the teeth break the food up into smaller bits.

Also, the way our digestion works, we don't want all of the food digested.  Cellulosic material (plant fiber such as celery, citrus bits and bran, for example) helps to clean out the digestive tract.

Finally, fecal matter is composed mostly of bacteria (e. coli) that live in symbiosis with us to help extract more nutrients out that the upper digestive tract couldn't get at.  Presumably, the bugs feed on the bacteria along with the nuts, etc. that don't get digested.

Dick

[Seany]

Thanks! And George, it was my mistake.. I didnt' mean that the acids had enzymes in them.. It said it wrongly []

But some acids are catalysts aren't they? So they speed up the breaking down, etc.

[neilep (OP)]

We all live off the waste of other living organisms.

The most obvious example of this is oxygen, which is the waste product of plants.

What is waste to one species is simply that which is either toxic to that species, or the species is no longer able to process any value from that substance.  Another species often has the ability to neutralise the toxins, or to obtain value from the substance through biological pathways not available to the species that considered the thing to be waste.

Since many humans will burn animal dung for fuel, it clearly has lots of energy left in it, simply not necessarily in a way that our digestive tracts can extract it.

THANK YOU for this George.

So, what came first ?..the flies or the poop ?

[Seany]

So, what came first ?..the flies or the poop ?

Lol Neil, please don't do this "What came first. The hen or the egg". I hate these type of questions []

[neilep (OP)]

Actually, digestion starts when the teeth break the food up into smaller bits.

Also, the way our digestion works, we don't want all of the food digested.  Cellulosic material (plant fiber such as celery, citrus bits and bran, for example) helps to clean out the digestive tract.

Finally, fecal matter is composed mostly of bacteria (e. coli) that live in symbiosis with us to help extract more nutrients out that the upper digestive tract couldn't get at.  Presumably, the bugs feed on the bacteria along with the nuts, etc. that don't get digested.

Dick

THANK YOU for this DR DICK.

Gosh !!..our digestion is clever deliberately not digesting certain foods.....but could it, if it wanted to..or is it just not possible ?

I can certainly vouch for the celery excess !!

[neilep (OP)]

So, what came first ?..the flies or the poop ?

Lol Neil, please don't do this "What came first. The hen or the egg". I hate these type of questions []

Actually, I am pretty sure we did in fact answer the chicken/egg thingy  a while ago !!

[Seany]

Lol! What did the result come out as? 50/50?

[neilep (OP)]

Lol! What did the result come out as? 50/50?

I honestly can't remember...I'll have to try and seek it out !!...it better be there after all this seeking I'm about to do !!

[Seany]

Lol. I think most people would have said that eggs came first. Just a feeling []

[DrDick]

I think that the chicken/egg question will come down to whether you're a strict creationist or an evolutionist.

According to strict creationist belief, the chickens were created, then later laid eggs.

According to evolutionist theory (even as an evolutionary creationist), chickens almost certainly evolved from some other egg-laying animal, so the egg came first. 

And yes Seany, acids can be catalysts.

Dick

[Seany]

Ahh.. I think im an evolutionist! It makes so much more sense though. []

And thanks Dick, for clearing it up.

[neilep (OP)]

Well..I finally found the answer...it's written two posts above in DrDicks excellent post.

THANK YOU again DrDick !

[Seany]

Yep, DrDick is a life-saver again. []

Btw Neil, how come you and Paul appear offline, and are written has "hidden" at the bottom?

[DrDick]

Yep, DrDick is a life-saver again. []

Btw Neil, how come you and Paul appear offline, and are written has "hidden" at the bottom?

I have no idea.  [] I'm still pretty new here, even though I've been a member for about a year.  I stopped coming here for a while for some reason, and just started back up a week or so ago.

[neilep (OP)]

Yep, DrDick is a life-saver again. []

Btw Neil, how come you and Paul appear offline, and are written has "hidden" at the bottom?

Ahh yes ...sorry..EWE did ask this earlier..I meant to answer ewe but for some reason there seems to be a lot of posting going on !!!..LOL

EWE can go to your profile page and edit the way ewe appear to be on the site...check it out...you'll see what I mean...if you don't see it..PM me and I'll direct ewe to it...