EFN

New research by the National Institutes of Health shows that Human skin is home to far more bacteria than previously thought.

The researchers set out to explore the micro-ecosystem living on the surface of our skin.  Preliminary results from the study have confirmed an unexpectedly diverse fauna of bacteria and microbes, and a far more intricate and complex system of life than previously thought.

The team discovered more than 112,000 bacteria, finding bugs belonging to 205 groups.

“All our knowledge had been based on what we could culture in the laboratory,” said lead researcher Julia A. Segre. “Culturing puts a bias on what you can study. You’re limited to what you can grow at a certain temperature in enriched media. In culture, you can find what you are looking for, but it’s hard to find what is not there.”

Unforeseen was the similarity of the bacteria living in the same sites on different people. “We found that the site was more determining than the individual,” Segre said. “In different people’s armpits we found the same bacteria, while different parts of the body had very different bacteria.”

The findings of this study will set a foundation for the Human Microbiome Project, a $115-million NIH venture directed at cataloging the bacteria as well as other organisms that populate the skin, gut, nose, mouth and vagina.