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The human body contains 10 times as many bacterial cells as it does human cells

Using bacterial DNA analysis, the scientists sampled bacteria found on healthy human skin at 20 different spots on the body

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clipped from www.npr.org

"We think of the inside of the nose as the rain forest," she says, because it contains the greatest wealth of biological diversity.

The nose is also where bacteria stay that often recolonize other parts of the body,

Oily parts of the skin, like next to the nose or behind the ear, are host to a whole different ecosystem of microorganisms

"Eczema is always inside the elbow. Psoriasis is on the outside of the elbow. Those human cells are the same."

Despite their proximity, the microbes that live inside the elbow and outside the elbow are quite different. Psoriasis and eczema don't appear to be caused by bacteria, but they could be a reaction, triggered by a change in the ecosystems of germs