Belly button bacteria samples: Bacillus subtilis (left) and Staphylococcus epidermidis.
Images courtesy of Belly Button Diversity
Everyone has
a belly button, but do you know what is in it? According to research, your
belly button is similar to a “rain forest”. About two years ago, a group of
scientists from North Carolina University study 60 belly buttons. The team
found 2,368 species of bacteria, 1,458 of which are brand new to science. The
strange thing was that, while some of the bacteria showed up multiple times on
6 different subjects, all the other species showed up in only a single subject.
One subject’s belly button contained bacteria found only in soil from Japan,
yet the subject had never been to the country. One subject even harbored
bacteria known to thrive in ice caps and thermal vents. Eight species showed up
on 70% of the subjects and it showed up in large numbers. Now scientists want
to know why these bacteria show up.
Knowing that
there are unknown bacteria is a little scary. I mean, scientists don’t know if
the new bacteria are dangerous or helpful. It could help advances in the medical
field though. Maybe one of these new bacteria species can fight and kill cancer
cells. After reading the article, I am really intrigued by this find. My belly
button could be the home to a new type of bacteria that could cure a disease or
cause one. I think it would be a really cool thing to look at someone’s belly
button under a microscope. You would get a chance to see bacteria alive and in
abundance. All in all, there is a micro rain forest of bacteria in your belly
button.
Visit the news article:
I really like how you pointed out that each person could host completely known bacteria. My Dad could hold the cure to Cancer in a small indentation of skin at the bottom of his stomach. I also like how you mentioned that the bacteria could help or be a detriment to science; it all depends on how the cookie crumbles.
ReplyDeleteThis information is astonishing. Discribing my belly button as a rain forest is confusing. My belly button might have a lot of activity like a rain forest but so does a city. This confused me and if you read it in an article, you should explain it more clearly. This is a very interesting story though and I am confedent my belly button harbors the cure to cancer.
ReplyDeleteI really think your article was interesting. I though it was intriguing to read about the things that may be located in your belly button and also some of the things your belly button may contain. Although, your article was kind of off topic, and not about what we are learning about in biology right now. However, overall, I think this article was astoundingly magnificent.
ReplyDeleteI could picture a belly button in my head and understand what you were writing about clearly. What is the difference between the 2 pictures shown above the blog? I liked how this article was very factual,it made me very interested in it.
ReplyDeleteI don't really get why you compared it to a rainforest, but overall I thought it was very interesting and you had a lot of good information. You also did a good job commenting on what you thought about the information.
ReplyDeleteThat was what the article was title, plus it is just like a rainforest. In a rainforest there is a huge diversity between species just like there is biodiversity.
DeleteThat's really really wierd and gross. Bacteria in my belly button... But aside from that I thought it was a very interesting article withg good information.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting topic, and I can see why you would chose it. You included a lot of interesting information, however that is not what I expected, because of the fact that it is a reflection. I am more interested in your reactions to this and what you were thinking while reading the article you chose. I would like to see how your thoughts can compare to mine.
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