Social network brings people with the same gut bacteria together for $2,100

Social networking sites are all the rage these days. People are so obsessed with Facebook, for example, that some consider it more important than light bulbs, toilets, and even healthcare systems. So it didn't sound strange when a group of scientists launched a social networking site to gather more data for research. That the site requires you to mail in a stool sample, however, is another matter altogether.

My.microbes is a new social networking site launched by scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. These scientists previously published a paper that details how humans have three enterotypes — a term they coined for gut bacteria ecosystems. Their study suggests that one of three different sets of microbes randomly colonize your gut when you were a baby. And in the future, knowing what your enterotype is could mean doctors can tailor drug prescriptions and diets according to your needs, among other medical applications. But the scientists admit that they need more research, and that they need samples from people of various ethnic origins. My.microbes is a means to achieve that.

If you're interested in meeting people with the same gut flora as yours to share diet tips and gastrointestinal stories, visit the site and register. You'll then be sent a package with a stool-sample kit and information about the project. Sending back a stool sample through mail might be strange, but it's actually the easier part of the application process. The difficult part? It's paying $2,100 to cover costs for gut bacteria sequencing needed to determine your enterotype.

A grand total of 120 people have registered thus far, but some are yet to send stool samples (and payment) back. Unfortunately, the researchers need a lot more than 120 participants — they need 5,000, in fact — for the study to be feasible. With that kind of price tag, it's not exactly a mystery why people haven't been clamoring to join. Especially since it's the participants who are usually paid to take part in clinical research and not the other way around.

[Image credit: Argonne National Laboratory]

[via NewScientist, NYTimes]

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