The NIH announced today that it will grant scientists a total of $115 million in taxpayer money over the next five years to decode the genomes of hundreds of microbes that live in or on the human body. Some of the bugs may be associated with BV, diarrhea, or perhaps even skin disorders like eczema. Others will be harmless–or even helpful–residents of our bodies.
What’s BV you ask? Why it’s bacterial vaginosis. But did you know this?
there’s this fact about lesbian couples: In sickness and in health, partners appear to share similar sets of vaginal bacteria. All women have numerous kinds of bacteria living in their vaginal secretions, and each woman seems to have her own slightly unique set. If a woman’s bacterial community becomes imbalanced, she can develop a condition called bacterial vaginosis. And if one lesbian in a monogamous couple has BV, her partner is many times more likely than normal to have it as well, suggesting that one can transmit her imbalanced vaginal ecosystem to the other.
Awesome!