When you were a kid, you were probably told once or twice that certain substances would stunt your growth, such as coffee (that's a myth), smoking (maybe true), or not drinking enough milk (that's calcium, and it's likely true). But stunted growth doesn't just mean that you don't grow as tall as you might have otherwise—many of the 165 million children who are stunted have cognitive disabilities and a greater likelihood of death before they turn five.
We as humans have a lot of characteristics that make us easy to distinguish from one another, such as the details in our fingerprints, eyes, and hair. Research over the past few years has shown that the bacteria living in various parts of the human body are also unique. A new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reveals for the first time that intestinal bacteria can be used as a forensic tool, helping scientists identify individuals from hundreds of samples. The research was published this week in PNAS.
It's World Cup season, so as our planet's eyeballs turn to soccer pitches, consider that flourishing communities of microbes in the players' guts. If you will. A new study found that elite athletes--in this case, professional Irish Rugby players--have extremely diverse gut microbiomes, compared with people of the same size who don't exercise. "This is the first report that exercise increases gut microbial diversity in humans," the authors wrote.
A German nonprofit, called MyMicrobes, is hoping you'll want to get your gut bacteria's genomes sequenced. It's expensive, but you'll get access to one of the most exclusive social networks around, where people worldwide can, um, talk about their gastrointestinal difficulties with like-minded people. Two grand seems cheap when we put it like that!