Gut reaction

摘要

Glenn Gibson's wife prefers him to tell dinnerparty guests that he works as a painter and decorator. That's understandable, because if he talks about his real job as a researcher of gut bacteria at the University of Reading, UK, the conversation all too easily turns to the source of his research material ―human excrement. For better or worse, faeces provide the best window into the microbial life of the human gut, a subject that is attracting more funding now than ever before. Partly in reaction to commercial claims that the bacteria in some yoghurts and other 'probiotic' products can boost health, the European Union (EU) has invested more than EUD15 million (US$19 million) since 1995 to research this poorly explored frontier.