A hitherto unknown community of bacteria has been found in the human stomach, says a study that may help treat gastrointestinal illnesses.The bacteria H pylori that causes peptic ulcers was discovered in stomachs 20 years ago and has been the subject of a large number of scientific studies. But it has not been clear how wide a range of micro-organisms live in the stomach, reported the online edition of BBC News.

Researchers at Stanford University carried out molecular analyses of gastric samples from 23 volunteers and found at least 128 different types of bacteria. Some were types that had been identified in the mouth or oesophagus. But 10 per cent of the types were genetically distinct from any previously reported bacteria. One was related to a group that includes deinococcus radiodurans, a bacterium found in radioactive waste sites, hot springs and animal faeces.

The researchers say this is the first time a similar bacterium has been identified in a human.In addition, H pylori was found in samples from 19 people studied, although conventional tests had only detected its presence in 12 of them. The researchers, led by Elisabeth Bik, said larger studies analysing gastric micro-organisms, focusing on whether there were significant differences between genders or in people from different ethnic and racial groups, were needed

When Chinese Yung Van Liu breaks into Urdu verse, his chaste accent and precise pronunciation cause in his audience ripples of admiration.Reportedly the only Urdu poet of Chinese origin in India, Yung says: "I am an Indian by birth and by heart." A dentist by profession and settled in Jamshedpur, Yung, 74, has bagged the Firaq Gorakhpuri award for his linguistic talents.

"When World War II broke out, my family had to shift to Jamshedpur from Kolkata for security reasons. My parents faced tough times and could not afford to send me to school. That was how I attended an Urdu school where no fee was charged. Initially I found it difficult to learn the Urdu alphabet, but gradually I mastered it. After six months, my family’s financial condition improved and they shifted me back to an English school." "But by then I had developed a love for Urdu," says the poet who never considered moving to China. When the India-China border war broke out in 1962, Yung criticised the Chinese invasion through Urdu poetry.

According to Yung, Urdu, a language that played a vital role in India’s freedom struggle, was not the language of a particularly community. "Urdu originates in the hearts of the people," he said.