Detecting 1,400 bacteria in the umbilical cord

A group of scientists has discovered 1,400 bacteria in the umbilical cord.

Navel Biodiversity Research conducted by North Carolina State University even found 662 unidentified bacteria. They may be new species that have never been discovered.

The researchers made their surprising discovery after suggesting 95 volunteers to allow microbiologists to take specimens in their navel.

Researchers have discovered 1400 types of bacteria in the umbilical cord

Although there are 1,400 types of bacteria discovered, 80% of them are quite common and almost harmless bacteria.

The number of bacteria in the umbilical cord indicates whether its owner has regular hygiene.

For example, New Scientist journalist Peter Aldhous cleans the navel regularly so there are no bacteria in his navel.

In contrast, science journalist Carl Zimmer is the owner of at least 53 different types of bacteria, some of which are of special origin.

He wrote: ' Some types of bacteria in my navel, like Marimonas, were previously found only in the ocean '.

In addition, there is another type called Georgenia. Previously, it was only found in soil in Japan.

2 samples of bacteria in the navel of volunteers

Scientists have asked volunteers to place long cotton swabs in their navel and rotate them three times.

Then they put these swabs in small vials and raised the bacteria in that environment.

After a while, they were captured and their DNA was split to compare with known bacteria.

The researchers said that they decided to study the umbilical cord because this is a small part of the eye and it is a great environment for bacteria.

The head of the project, Mr. Jiri Hulcr, said: ' Maybe we are the only ones studying the umbilical cord on such a large scale.'