MicrobeWorld - Human gut may engineer its bacterial environment via secretions

The human gut may help control the bacterial populations that live within it via secretions that kill some bacteria while supporting others, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal PLoS Biology.

The gut is an enormously complex environment inhabited not only by human cells but also by trillions of bacteria. Some of those bacteria actively aid us by improving digestion (hence the term "probiotic"), producing useful compounds like vitamins, or providing resistance against pathogens.

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