Poop Speaks

Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Pacific Biosciences' Eric Schadt foresees a future in which special toilets collect stool samples that can then be sent off for sequencing, reports Bloomberg Businessweek. "I think of it like a Netflix model," Schadt tells Bloomberg. "Where you take the sample from your toilet every day and mail it out to a sequencing service. Then you get an e-mail report back about what bugs are showing up in your area, what your diet looks like, and any disruptions in your microbiome that might be a concern." In addition to home sampling, Schadt says samples could be collected from spots like airports or emergency rooms to monitor public health concerns, like flu outbreaks.