WASHINGTON, May 30, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The estimated 1,000 species of
bacteria inhabiting healthy human skin are likely necessary for proper body
functioning, researchers said.
Bacterial colonies reside on different parts of the skin, some in the armpit and
belly button, which are akin to tropical rain forests, and others on the
forearm, which resembles an arid desert, researchers from the National
Institutes of Health told the Los Angeles Times in a story published Saturday.
"We live in a microbial world, and these things are not all out to get us," said
Noah Fierer, a microbial ecologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Researchers in the $115 million Human Microbiome Project, are cataloging
microorganisms that inhabit the skin, stomach, nose, mouth and vagina. Fierer
studies bacteria on hands.
For the project, the researchers collected a total of 112,283 microorganisms
from 10 racially diverse volunteers before dividing the organisms into roughly
1,000 species, the Times reported.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International