Belly button bacteria.

• Position: Germs - Brief article

While scientists are always on the lookout for new species, it turns out they've been ignoring a whole bunch close to home--in our navels. Researchers at North Carolina State University began the Belly Button Biodiversity Project last year to learn more about the kinds of bacteria that grow on our skin. They've already swabbed 500 belly buttons and analyzed 60 samples, with surprising results: A total of 2,368 bacterial species were found, 1,458 of which may be new to science. Some of the bacterial discoveries were downright strange: One man harbored a species common in soil in Japan--where he'd never been; another...