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Published online 26 May 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060522-19
Corrected online: 31 May 2006

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Stomach bug makes food yield more calories

Mice with a hefty dose of a certain gut bacteria are fatter.

Scientists have identified a key microbe in our guts that helps us glean more calories from food. The discovery backs the idea that the type of microbes in our gut help to determine how much weight we gain, and that seeding the intestine with particular bugs could help fight obesity.

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