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But Professor Bill Parker says the finding does not mean we should cling onto our appendices at all costs.
"It's very important for people to understand that if their appendix gets inflamed, just because it has a function it does not mean they should try to keep it in," he said.
"So it's sort of a fun thing that we've found, but we don't want it to cause any harm, we don't want people to say, "oh, my appendix has a function", so I'm not going to go to the doctor, I'm going to try to hang onto it."
Attractive theory
Nicholas Vardaxis, an associate professor in the Department of Medical Sciences at RMIT University, says the theory put forward by the Duke University scientists makes sense.
"As an idea it's an attractive one, that perhaps it would be a nice place for these little bacteria to localise in, a little cul-de-sac away from everything else," he said.
"The thing is that if we observe what's been happening through evolution,
the higher on the evolutionary scale we are and the more omnivorous animals become, then the smaller and less important the appendix becomes and humans are a good example of that.
"The actual normal flora bacteria within the appendix, as well within our gut, are the same, so we've lost all of those specialised bacteria.
"So it doesn't have that safe house type of function anymore, I don't think.
"It's a vestige of something that was there in previous incarnations, if you like."
http://www.sott.net/article/264208-...into-damage-control-and-minimize-the-findings