US researchers have discovered probiotic intestinal bacteria in baby feces that could have healing powers. The bacterial strains could help people suffering from diabetes or autoimmune diseases.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Kiran
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A team of researchers in North Carolina has come up with a rather unusual appetizer. Scientists at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem have mixed a probiotic cocktail of bacteria found in baby feces. Their results were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Probiotic foods are considered to be a kind of superfood. Yoghurt, sauerkraut or certain cheeses, for example, are probiotic and therefore contain many lactic acid bacteria. These are good for the intestinal flora and should contribute to general health.
The intestinal bacteria strains used by the researchers could help the human body to produce so-called short-chain fatty acids.
Hariom Yadav, head of the study, explained: "Short-chain fatty acids are a key component of good gut health."
Obese people or patients with diabetes, autoimmune diseases and cancer in particular often have fewer short-chain fatty acids.
Why baby feces?
For the study, the scientists examined the feces of babies, because the little ones are usually still very healthy. Also, baby feces are pretty easy to come by. 34 healthy babies made their diapers available for scientific purposes.
The researchers administered the bacterial cocktail to mice and also tested its effect on the feces of adult humans, albeit in the laboratory. They found that the man-made, or baby-made, probiotics have actually stimulated the production of short-chain fatty acids.
"The data could be used for future studies on the influence of probiotics on the human microbiome, metabolism and related diseases," Yadav said.
Lilibet Diana and other royal babies
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced the birth of their second child, a baby girl. Here are a few other British royal babies who've smiled for the camera.
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Another reason to smile: the birth of their daughter Lilibet Diana
"It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world," the couple's press secretary said Sunday, after the announcement of the June 4 birth. The new baby is named after Queen Elizabeth and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Harry's mother. Official pictures have not yet been released.
Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
Meghan and Prince Harry's first child, Archie Harrison, was born on May 6, 2019. In the image shown here, the couple revealed their two-day-old son to the public, with the proud new mother declaring that the baby was "a dream." Archie is the seventh in line to the throne.
Image: Reuters/D. Lipinski
Prince Louis of Cambridge
Prince William and Kate introduced their third child to the world seven hours after his birth on April 23, 2018. While the boy was born on St. George's Day, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had to find another name for the fifth-in-line to the throne, as George is the name given to his older brother. They picked Louis Arthur Charles, and he will be known as Prince Louis.
Image: Reuters/J. Stillwell
Third in line to the throne
Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to Prince William's first child on July 22, 2013. Officially called George Alexander Louis, Prince George became a big brother on May 2, 2015. The boy is third in line to succeed his great-grandmother, after his grandfather Charles and his father.
Image: Reuters
Fourth in line, Princess Charlotte
George's little sister, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, was born on May 2, 2015. Her name, which honors both her grandmother and great-grandmother, was announced two days later. This photo shows her at the age of one in 2016. Following changes in the rules of succession privileging male heirs, Princess Charlotte remains fourth in line to the throne, even though she now has a baby brother.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Hrh The Duchess Of Cambridge/Han
Cheerful Queen
These happy chubby cheeks belong to none other than Queen Elizabeth II. She is in the arms of her mother Elizabeth, the Duchess of York. Her father was the future King George VI. Elizabeth II's birth was a difficult one: The heiress to the throne was finally delivered via C-section on April 21, 1926. She grew up with her younger sister Margaret (1930-2002). Today, she is 92 years old.
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His Royal Highness, in diapers
This young boy was born on June 10, 1921. At the time, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh didn't realize that about 25 years later he would be asking the hand of a future queen in marriage: Elizabeth II. Philip's father had already arranged a meeting with the then 13-year-old heiress to the throne in 1939. At the time, Philip was still a student at the Royal Naval College. He died on April 9, 2021.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Do you recognize this one?
Charles Philip Arthur George, better known as Prince Charles, was born on November 14, 1948. When he was four years old, his mother, Elizabeth II, ascended the throne. As the eldest child, Charles is the royal heir and Duke of Cornwall.
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Princess of hearts
This baby would later become royal. Lady Di was born on July 1, 1961. In 1981, she married Prince Charles under the eyes of some 750 million television viewers worldwide. The failure of their marriage would be just as publicized. Diana's death in a car accident on the night of August 31, 1997 would be followed by another media frenzy. Her fans still mourn her today.
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A smiling Prince William
Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 21, 1982 in London. After their parents separated in 1992, William and his brother Harry lived alternately with Princess Diana in London's Kensington Palace or with their father and grandmother Elizabeth II at the Royal Court.
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Harry, prince popular
His real name is Prince Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor. But the world prefers to simply call him Prince Harry. The sandy-haired baby was born on September 15, 1984. Harry's excessive partying as a teenager would later make tabloid headlines. He managed to get rid of his bad-boy image, and later married Meghan Markle. They now have children of their own.
