E. coli and you

E. coli gets a bad rap. When E. coli from a cow gets into our meat it makes us sick. It can even kill us. You probably know that we have E. coli as part of our normal flora. That is, E. coli colonizes our digestive tract and causes us no harm. The bacteria is so endemic that newborns are colonized within hours of being born.

But did you know E. coli can be used to synthesize insulin? Elly Lilly's brand of Humulin is made with the help of E. coli.

A laboratory strain of E. coli is genetically altered with recombinant DNA to produce synthetic insulin. Because DNA is a universal code, scientists can grow E. coli coded for human insulin in a laboratory.

So next time you hear a news story about E. coli, don't paint all E. coli with the same brush. It can also be used to save lives.