Scientists and physicians at Loyola University Chicago and Loyola Medicine published groundbreaking research that debunked the common belief that urine in healthy women is sterile. The study found that the bladder not only contains bacteria but the microbes are similar to those found in the vagina and could lead to improved diagnostic tests and treatments for urinary tract infections. After sequencing the genes of 149 bacterial strains from 77 women researchers found that the microbiota (community of microorganisms) found in the bladder and vagina were similar and they were markedly distinct from the microbiota found in the gastrointestinal tract. It
