‘Poop vault’: Why scientists in Switzerland are freezing human waste

Scientists in Switzerland are freezing human waste.

But what’s the reason?

The frozen stool is being kept in a special “doomsday” vault in Switzerland, which already holds over 1,000 samples.

Researchers plan to collect 10,000 samples by the year 2029.

The Microbiota Vault, as it is called, is based in Switzerland and is inspired by the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.

But why are they saving poop there?

Let’s take a look:

The reason behind ‘doomsday’ vault

Human waste holds billions of microbes, and scientists want to preserve them in case future generations need these organisms to deal with medical or health problems, as per a commentary published on Friday (June 27) in the journal Nature Communications.

The Swiss vault also stores nearly 200 types of fermented food, which are rich in microbes known to support gut health. The team plans to include environmental microbes as well.

The long-term goal is to create backup copies of microbes from humans, animals, plants and nature. This could help future researchers study diseases, restore damaged ecosystems, and develop new medical treatments.

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So far, scientists have frozen more than 1,200 stool samples at -80°C (-112°F), and they aim to collect thousands more from around the world.

The commentary warned that the variety of microbes across the globe is in danger. Things like industrial farming, changes in climate, antibiotics, and even modern eating habits are reducing the diversity of microbiomes.

This loss is linked to more cases of chronic illnesses, including autoimmune and metabolic diseases.

Dr Martin Blaser, one of the authors and director at Rutgers University’s Centre for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, said, “Human activities are depleting our microbiome, and there’s lots of evidence of that.”

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The researchers wrote, “The loss of microbial diversity extends to environmental ecosystems, jeopardising agricultural systems and environmental resilience.”

How will it help in the future?

So far, the Microbiota Vault has been in its early or “launch” stage.

During this time, researchers tested if it was possible to collect and transport stool and fermented foods from around the world, according to the commentary.

Over the last seven years, scientists in Switzerland have received 1,204 stool samples and 190 food samples from Benin, Brazil, Ethiopia, Ghana, Laos, Thailand and Switzerland. These are now stored at -80°C at the University of Zurich.

The project has now entered its “growth” stage. Researchers hope to gather thousands more samples, including microbes from areas with fragile ecosystems.

There are also plans to find a permanent site for the vault, preferably in a cold country like Switzerland or Canada.

Although there is no certainty that frozen microbes can fully bring back a damaged microbiome, scientists are hopeful that future technology will make it possible.

“Maybe 100 years from now, having saved these microbes could prevent a major disaster,” Dr Blaser said in a statement.

The team also said in the article, “It is our obligation to future generations to preserve this microbial diversity.”

Not the first project of its kind

Back in late 2023, scientists from Nist (National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Charleston, South Carolina, received a special delivery.

It had containers holding bags of frozen human stool.

Researchers at Nist and an outside lab worked together to turn the samples into fine powder. This was then mixed with water until it had a smoothie-like texture.

The mixture was poured into 10,000 tubes and shared between Nist teams in Charleston and Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Scientists in both cities have been closely examining the material ever since.

All of this research aims to help set the stage for a new range of medical treatments made using human waste.