Mike Jones, an American doctoral student was already late for a lecture to be delivered by Prof. Herbert Booth, a Nobel Laureate from the Maximilian University, Vienna. Mike was spending a semester doing collaborative biological research in the labs of Prof. Joachim Sanders in Berlin’s Max Planck Institute. Now in a hurry, he would decide to take a short cut through a neighborhood street. And that’s when he noticed a street-food cart, operated by a young couple selling bratwursts, grilled German sausages served on rolls, layered with mustard as well as a heap of sauerkraut (fermented cabbage). From his German colleagues, Mike heard about this particular vendor couple and the great quality of their bratwursts. Mike, a health conscious foodie already missed out on his morning apple. Now feeling hungry, he would decide to try out this street bratwurst. He was pleasantly amazed to the item’s quality.
Soon, Mike became addicted to the item, consuming at least one every day, if not more. In addition, he started to feel a new kind of vigor allowing him to spend more time in the lab, carrying out additional experiments of his own curiosity. Even Prof. Sanders noticed the change and inquired about any change Mike recently made in his life style. Mike mentioned about his new daily affinity to bratwursts from this particular street vendor. Intrigued, Prof. Sanders requested Mike to go to the health center, associated with the institute to donate some blood in order to undergo a thorough analysis of the circulating chemical compounds.
Two days later, Prof. Sanders received the analysis report. As he was pouring through the data, Prof. Sanders noted the surprising presence of a chemical not known to be circulating in the blood of a normal person. Next day, Prof. Sanders stopped by the same vendor Mike mentioned. He would request a sample of their sauerkraut and bring back to the lab. At his request, one of his postdoctoral associates would analyze that sample of sauerkraut, reporting the presence of the same compound that was found to be circulating in Mike’s blood. Prof. Sanders realized that the particular fermentation process that imparted the vendor’s sauerkraut so tasteful was also creating that unique chemical. Prof Sanders theorized that in Mike’s case, he was genetically predisposed to this chemical to augment his immune system. Thus was his new found vigor. But what was the biological rationale for Mike getting addicted to this vendor’s bratwursts? Thus began a whole new line of research in Prof. Sanders’ labs.
After returning to US, Mike started to experience a bratwurst withdrawal syndrome (BWS). At the time of this writing, he checked himself into a rehabilitation program near the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, hoping to recover, just being surrounded by caring nature.
Soon, Mike became addicted to the item, consuming at least one every day, if not more. In addition, he started to feel a new kind of vigor allowing him to spend more time in the lab, carrying out additional experiments of his own curiosity. Even Prof. Sanders noticed the change and inquired about any change Mike recently made in his life style. Mike mentioned about his new daily affinity to bratwursts from this particular street vendor. Intrigued, Prof. Sanders requested Mike to go to the health center, associated with the institute to donate some blood in order to undergo a thorough analysis of the circulating chemical compounds.
Two days later, Prof. Sanders received the analysis report. As he was pouring through the data, Prof. Sanders noted the surprising presence of a chemical not known to be circulating in the blood of a normal person. Next day, Prof. Sanders stopped by the same vendor Mike mentioned. He would request a sample of their sauerkraut and bring back to the lab. At his request, one of his postdoctoral associates would analyze that sample of sauerkraut, reporting the presence of the same compound that was found to be circulating in Mike’s blood. Prof. Sanders realized that the particular fermentation process that imparted the vendor’s sauerkraut so tasteful was also creating that unique chemical. Prof Sanders theorized that in Mike’s case, he was genetically predisposed to this chemical to augment his immune system. Thus was his new found vigor. But what was the biological rationale for Mike getting addicted to this vendor’s bratwursts? Thus began a whole new line of research in Prof. Sanders’ labs.
After returning to US, Mike started to experience a bratwurst withdrawal syndrome (BWS). At the time of this writing, he checked himself into a rehabilitation program near the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, hoping to recover, just being surrounded by caring nature.
