Synthetic poop created to treat gastrointestinal infections
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Microbiologist Emma Allen-Vercoe and her lab team, whipping up a batch of RePOOPulate
Emma Allen-Vercoe looks on as a team member works in her "poopy lab"
Article Summary
If the clostridium difficile bacterium becomes over-abundant in a person’s colon, the results can include gastrointestinal problems such as severe diarrhea. Ordinarily, c. difficile populations are kept in check by the usually-present beneficial gut bacteria. If those “good” bacteria are killed off as a side effect of taking antibiotics, however, the nasties can take over. The treatment? Well ... it often involves having another person’s stool implanted in your gut via enema. Yikes. Fortunately, a less icky treatment is in the works, that involves the use of a “synthetic poop” known as RePOOPulate.
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