1,000 species of bacteria on your body: It's good, not bad!

William Atkins
Saturday, 30 May 2009 18:08

Science - Biology

According to The Los Angeles Times article, the following list is a summary of some of the important findings of the NIH study.

They are:

•    “More than half [of the species of bacteria] belonged to one of three big groups that made them a cousin either of the bacterium that causes acne; one that causes diphtheria; or Staphylococcus aureus, the culprit behind many dangerous antibiotic-resistant infections.”

•    Moist areas -- such as the belly button and the inner bend of the elbow -- have up to 10 times as many bacteria per square inch compared with dry areas, like the inside of the mid-forearm….”

•    “… the forearm turned out to have the greatest diversity of bacterial species, with a median of 44 among the 10 human volunteers.”

•    “The least diverse site sampled was the oily area behind the ear, with a median of 15….”

•    “… the locations of bacterial species is relatively consistent from person to person, perhaps implying some function that confers a benefit to the host.”

One of the purposes of the study was to learn more about how bacteria is involved with diseases of the skin. Dr. Segre states, "We don't really know what causes skin diseases.”

This study is helping to learn more, especially with such diseases as eczema and psoriasis.

According to the study, about 100 billion individual bacteria live on the average body of a human. Yes, that would be you and I.

People often say that bacteria on the body are bad. This is generally not true.

In fact, Dr. Segre, an investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute. states, "We have to lose this language of warfare. Our goal is to keep the bacterial ecosystem in balance and move away from the concept that all bacteria are bad."

Learn more about the skin and problems associated with the skin at the WebMD website "Skin Problems and Treatments Health Center."