NEWS YOU CAN USE: Bacteria-immune system ‘fight’ can lead to chronic diseases, study suggests. “Results from a study conducted at Georgia State University suggest that a ‘fight’ between bacteria normally living in the intestines and the immune system, kicked off by another type of bacteria, may be linked to two types of chronic disease. The study suggests that the ‘fight’ continues after the instigator bacteria have been cleared by the body, according to Andrew Gewirtz, professor of biology at the GSU Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection. That fight can result in metabolic syndrome, an important factor in obesity, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).”