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At Persephone Biosciences, a lab worker removed bacterial samples from a pool stored in small boxes at minus 200 degrees Celsius (minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s a baby bacterium that Persephone CEO Stephanie Culler calls “the company’s property.” And where did they come from?
“This is our baby wrap tool!” Culler said.
It is recruiting parents to provide stool samples from babies less than 8 weeks old. The pop kit is in a black box. Cooler opened the box and showed us the contents.
“Easy-to-use instructions, another reminder about filling out medical information, an easy-to-use scoop…” she said. “You pick up the bud and put it in this container.”
A healthy body means a healthy microbiome, which includes the bacteria found in the gut. And San Diego-based Persephone Bioscience is recruiting parents to donate their babies’ poop, so babies can learn what’s in their guts and what microbes they might be missing.
The company wants to collect a wide variety of stool samples to examine the gut biome of children across the country and compare it to health problems they may face later in life.
“We know there’s been a huge increase in food allergies over the last two decades,” she says. “A lot of it may come from the microbiome.”
Culler says the health of the microbiome can determine the effectiveness of a child’s immune system. She said modern life is the source of many health problems, along with low fiber in the diet and overuse of antibiotics.
“Compared to the Amish, the microbiome of an Amish baby is very different,” said Culler, a culture that rejects many aspects of modern life.
Other modern innovations that Culler says can change a baby’s gut health include C-section births and formula feeding. The study compared those children who were born vaginally and those who were breastfed. The company wants to track the children’s medical history for seven years.
The end game: developing drugs that strengthen children’s microbiomes to improve their overall health.
““We want to come up with a product that works for every baby, no matter how old they are, no matter what they eat,” Culler said. “We want them to have the right microbes for health success.”
Before that happens, Persephone needs to recruit more parents to send babies.
“The sooner we can get the bud, the sooner we can get the product,” Culler said.
Persephone Bioscience Now he has collected 15 million dollars In seed finance. The company hopes that the return on investment will be a healthy gut for children and a healthy financial return. People who want to donate should go gotbabypoop.com.
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