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Scientists have identified more than 70,000 previously unknown viruses that live in the gut and infect the bacteria that occur there – but what effect they actually have on our body remains a mystery at the moment.
The intestinal microbiome, or community of microbes that humans have in the digestive system, plays an important role not only in digestion but also in balancing the immune system. Many studies, Live Science recalls, have linked intestinal microbial imbalance to various health problems including liver disease, overweight and allergies.
But little is known about the microbiome, despite the fact that it includes a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. Previous studies have focused in the vast majority of cases only on intestinal bacteria because they are more easily detected.
Through a new method recently used, which analyzes genetic material from a community of microbes and then performs individual sequencing, 28,000 microbiomes were examined from samples taken in 28 countries around the world, and tens of thousands of viruses were found in the gut for which knew nothing.
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