A coup for poo: why the world’s first faecal transplant approval matters

Australia's green light for the procedure opens up potential to treat bacterial infections, as well as other diseases

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Inside your gut is a thriving community of trillions of microbes. Thousands of species of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms make up this diverse microbiome, which weighs about 2kg. Its health is affected by your environment and what you eat, and in turn it affects your metabolism, immunity and even your mood.

To be healthy and to keep humans healthy, the microbiome needs to be diverse. That has become an increasing problem in the modern world, where diets are less diverse and get battered by medical treatments such as antibiotics.