Reuters: Gill's research looks at DNA of intestinal bacteria

An article distributed around the world by Reuters news service reports on research conducted by Steven Gill, associate professor of oral biology, who studied the DNA of hundreds of different kinds of bacteria in the human gut. "We are somehow like an amalgam, a mix of bacteria and human cells. There are some estimated that say 90 percent of the cells on our body are actually bacteria," he said. "We're entirely dependent on this microbial population for our well-being. A shift within the population, often leading to the absence or presence of beneficial microbes, can trigger defects in metabolism and development of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease." Go to article. Other outlets that carried the article include ABC News, Wyoming Public Radio, Miami Herald, Connecticut Public Radio, China Daily, Times of Oman, Malaysia Star, The Scotsman and the St. Louis Post Dispatch.