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Kevin Winter / Getty Images file
Your navel is bacteria-land.
What's inside your belly button? Probably dirt and sweat; possibly some lint, and perhaps even a piercing.
But according to new research, which asked 66 men and women to swab their navels with a sterile Q-tip, the skin in study participants' belly buttons also contained an average of 67 different species of bacteria.
The study, published online in the journal PLoS ONE, was done as part of the Belly Button Biodiversity project.
Why belly buttons? "It was a fun way to reach out to the public and teach them about the ecology and evolution of everyday life," says Rob Dunn, PhD, an associate professor of biology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, who led the study. In other words, the navel is a novel, attention-getting device to study science.
He says the belly button is a fun habitat filled with living organisms that we don't know much about. It's less exposed and gets washed less often than other areas of skin, so the bacterial community in the umbilicus is less disturbed.
Researchers cultured the bacteria from people's navels, and participants could view online photos of the bacterial colonies found living in their belly button. The experimenters also isolated DNA from the sample to identify the exact bacterial species.
In all, they found 2,368 different species of bacteria, which is a heck of a lot of biological diversity.
"We got many more species of bacteria than we expected," says Dunn. But most of those bacterial species were rare ones found in just a few people's belly buttons.
Only about 8 bacterial types occurred in more than 70% of all the people screened.
Those common kinds included species such as Staphylococci, which Dunn says is like your skin's standing army defending it from bad germs. Other frequent microbes were a species of Bacillus, a type that gives stinky feet their odor and may be protecting the body from fungi, and Micrococcus, a hardy bacteria found deep in the navel that can survive without oxygen.
The more common species of bacteria seem to be very predictable, Dunn explains. "They were more frequent and abundant on more people, and more common than we expected," he points out.
Dunn suggests that if scientists can get a handle on those common ones, they will know a lot more about what's going on with skin bacteria. For example, they might understand which ones are really good for the skin and which ones are bad. Or how the bacteria interact with one another or with the immune system.
Two samples contained an extremely rare type of archaea, a single-cell organism never previously found on human skin. One of these samples came from a man who self-reported that he had not bathed or showered for several years -- yikes!
Researchers also collected information from study participants on their age, gender, ethnicity, where they grew up, if they are pet owners (who may get more bacteria on their skin if their pooch or cat frequently lick them), and even if their belly button was an innie or an outie. So far, none of this data has been linked to the types of bacterial species found in someone's umbilicus.
Dunn said his research team will continue to study belly button bacteria and have collected more than 500 samples. But they have also started to look into the microbial diversity of underarms, and they are currently recruiting people interested in sampling the microbial communities found in their homes.
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Leave a Comment:
I guess this is another reason to raise Airline fees , no one living or dead flies for free. Homeland security is going to have fun with this .
Right. (not to mention that just by traveling, the possible disruption caused by introducing
non-native species into another ecosystem).
And then there's the possibility of sitting next to the guy who did not bathe for 7 years................
We are rolling toward a financial depression and we are talking about "Naval warfare" IMHO the news is skewed and we are screwed!
Did none of these people ever wash their navel? Like every time they shower?
Did you get that, boomer? N-A-V-E-L . . . as in belly button. Naval is about the branch of armed forces that uses boats.
Wow, so glad they did this study rather than working on a cure or treatment for Alzheimer's, ALS, MS, Cancer, AIDS, etc.
Exactly, Troy.
Actually the study of microbial biodiversity in(or on) the human body can lead to improved health benefits. In the past it was largely "All germs are bad" however we are starting to learn that some organisms can, and do have beneficial effects. The key is determining which ones do, and which ones to purge. This can in turn lead to decreased infection rates and improved general health of the populace. The study of the symbiosis that occurs in and on our bodies may very well save our lives.
What's the matter Troy? We need these diseases to cull the herd, particularly the old and weak - a solution that will help cut entitlement expenditures.
Hello... it all starts here at the bottom... under our toes and in our belly buttons so to speak. You are the people that support cutting down rainforests and then want scientists to cure the common cold... when you just killed the last plant on earth that would contain the chemical that would have done that for us.
Maybe they will find the cure for for Alzheimer's, ALS, MS, Cancer, AIDS, etc. in there.
Now that would be "ironic" to say the least.
I cant wait until someone makes glasses that highlight germ colonies on surfaces. Imagine what the world will look like through a pair of those. I bet the world is teeming with life, with colonies living on everything.
Just dont wear them when making dinner lol
Actually that's not too difficult to do, with some special kinds of lights, some dyes, polarizing glass and optical filters.
Freedom: We live in their world. You, me and everyone require bacteria to survive. Even the mitochondria in eucaryotes (you, trees, bees, fungi,and plants) now seen as symbiotic bacteria give the energy to run pump our hearts and power our cells (except sperm cells). Plant chloroplast are now considered bacteria.
One of my microbiology profs jokingly stated that if she used a magic wand to make everything but microbes disappear we would still see the world but as shadows.
We are just visitors in their world.
Symbiosis is a two way street Exito. We need them because they provide us with energy, defense from harmful organisms, aid in digestion ect. They need us because they need a place to live and because our bodies produce many chemicals that they feed on.
Another PhD who has nothing better to do with his education.
Next, he will be Q tipping butholes for bacteria and guessing what you had for dinner.
oh God why did they tell this now idiot mothers will be putting that awful ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer on their kids belly buttons too now regardless of the scientists telling them that many bacteria actually protect you from getting sick
haha...I agree Michael!! There are some real nutjob germaphob mothers out there!!
What a ridiculous waste of money and other resources.
Don't worry about it. Go watch TV.
It might seem more relevant once you start going to school.
Steve, how much money was spent?
Weeell ..... each to their own I guess ..... :)
Bathe much?
Flunk science class ?
67, That would be a Super Majority on the U.S. Senate, something might get passed, but then they do spend too much time compemplating their navel.
For those of you who think the study is ridiculous and wasteful--we have more bacteria cells living in and on our body than human cells. Yet, this is a very poorly studied area. Why does skin biota matter? Because we do not understand it and yet are constantly doing things that without thought or information which disrupts it. Sanitizers and other antibacterial products are a good example. They kill off the good bacteria with the bad and that can lead to problems such as overgrowth of bad bacteria once the good ones are killed off. A better understanding of our bacteria will be valuable in understanding disease. My husband has SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). He sees a gastroenterologist affiliated with a top university. It is so poorly researched that they really don't know which bacteria overgrow, nor why. Scientist have only recently been documenting normal biota in the gut. Think it doesn't matter? This is an awful illness with no known cure. Lots of people diagnosed with IBS probably have this. And the fact is that we need good bacteria in order to survive.
I agree with you, Janet. Also, often by doing these seemingly wasteful experiments and studies, powerful knowledge about other diseases and syndromes is gained. By studying microbes and their affects on our immune systems, we may be able to develop more effective treatments for MS, ALS and other autoimmune disorders. It is important to take a long-term view. I truly wish you and your husband well, God Bless.
It is frustrating to hear the comments of the great, ignorant masses who have no understanding of what science is and how research is done.
EXAMPLE: James Maxwell probably had little to zero interest in electronics, but had it not been for the knowledge of the laws in physics known as "Maxwell's equations," we'd still be riding steam locomotives, getting our "email" by pony express and reading that mail by kerosene lamps or tallow candles.
According to a recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimate, 90% of cells in the human body are bacterial, fungal, or otherwise non-human.
Uh Janet, we have had this since the beginning of time and we've all lived and existed just fine. And nobody dies from stuff in our navels. However, people do die from Alzheimers, Cancer, etc.
Uh, Troy, understanding the bacteria on our bodies leads to a greater understanding of how our biology works. It might even lead to a cure for cancer or Alzheimer's one day.
If your brain was capable of complex thought, you'd realize that. Maybe the bacteria in your navel worked their way into your bloodstream and destroyed your brain. That's one of the discoveries they might make by studying this area, so you can't just dismiss it.
Uh god, I doubt it.
Maybe they can at least make you smart enough to figure out how to use the "reply" button so you don't spread your nonsense all over the page. But I doubt that, too.
Knowing about the microbes on our skin probably isn't going to cure Alzheimer's, but it might help cure other major illnesses, or be used to make a really good anti-wrinkle or anti-zit cream. Microbes are awesome!
@seyleigh, you know not of what you speak. It is entirely possible that treatment for Alzheimer's could come from this research. We just don't know. Did you hear in the news this week that they may have discovered a way to use the HIV (virus) to treat leukemia?
There are more bacteria in the human body than body cells.
Did Adam and Eve have navels? And if so, why?
Yes. because they evolved from lower primates. And they were black.
@Gumps: Prove it!
Truthman (if indeed you really are a man), you have within your chromosomes (as in all male humans), genetic markers that trace our ancestry back to Africa. It is the African continent where homo sapiens originated and migrated to other parts of the world. Try doing a little research, for example:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/07/18/us-evolution-skulls-idUSL1885586220070718
Do I have to spoon feed knowledge to you? Are you incapable of researching things on your own?
Filthy parasites! I hate their guts!
Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate my kids too!
I have an entire family from <insert your favorite refugee nation here> living in mine. The rest is helping with expenses, but the loud music keeps me up at night.
Very interesting anyways i think people wants to use new fashion and invent interesting things
buy juvederm
I cannot believe an article was written about this? I discovered this by accident.