COSMOS Mag:

"...PARIS: A census of microbes in the human digestive tract found at least 1,000 microbes, many previously unknown, and could lead to new cure for gut ailments with the help of personal microbial profiles.

"This completely changes our vision," said Stanislav-Dusko Ehrlich, a researcher at France's National Institute for Agricultural Research, after the study was published in the journal Nature.

Knowing which core bacteria populate a healthy intestine should lead to more accurate diagnosis and prognosis for diseases ranging from ulcers to irritable bowel syndrome to Crohn's, which also causes painful inflammation, he said.

Your personal microbial profile

"In the future, we should be able to modify the (microbial) flora to optimise health and well being," he said.

"This also opens up the possibility of prevention through diet, and treatments tailored a person's genetic and microbial profile."

More than 100 researchers working over two years found some 3.3 million distinct genes spread across at least 1,000 species of single-celled organisms, virtually all bacteria...."

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