WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut.
That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School
The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system
There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food.
But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.
The appendix "acts as a good safe house for bacteria,"
Also, the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory, cultivating the good germs
The idea "seems by far the most likely" explanation for the function of the appendix
clipped from: www.cnn.com