"Bacteria live on everyones skin https and new research shows some friendly germs produce natural antibiotics that ward off their diseasecausing cousins. Now scientists are mixing the good bugs into lotions in hopes of spreading protection.  In one early test those customized creams guarded five patients with a kind of itchy eczema https against risky bacteria that were gathering on their cracked skin researchers reported Wednesday.  Its boosting the bodys overall immune defenses said Dr. Richard Gallo dermatology chairman at the University of California San Diego who is leading the work.  We share our bodies with trillions of microbes that live on our skin in our noses in the gut. This community  what scientists call the microbiome https  plays critical roles in whether we stay healthy or become more vulnerable to various diseases. Learning what makes a healthy microbiome is a huge field of research and already scientists are altering gut bacteria to fight diarrheacausing infections.   Wednesdays research sheds new light on the skins microbiome  suggesting that one day it may be possible to restore the right balance of good bugs to treat skin disorders too.   Its a really important paper said Dr. Emma GuttmanYassky of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who wasnt involved with the new research. It does open a window for a potential new treatment.  Healthy skin harbors a different mix of bacteria https than skin damaged by disorders such as atopic dermatitis the most common form of eczema. Those patches of dry red itchy skin are at increased risk of infections particularly from a worrisome germ known as Staphylococcus aureus.  Gallos team took a closer look at how microbes in healthy skin might be keeping that bad staph in check.  They discovered certain strains of some protective bacteria secrete two antimicrobial peptides a type of natural antibiotic. In lab tests and on the surface of animal skin those substances could selectively kill Staph aureus and even a drugresistant strain known as MRSA without killing neighboring bacteria like regular antibiotics do the team reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.  But those good bugs are rare in the skin of people with atopic dermatitis Gallo said.  People with this type of eczema for some reason thats not quite known yet have a lot of bacteria on the skin but its the wrong type of bacteria. Theyre not producing the antimicrobials they need he explained.  Would replenishing the good bugs help Theyre normal skin bacteria so we knew they would be safe Gallo noted.  His team tested five volunteers with atopic dermatitis who had Staph aureus growing on their skins surface  whats called colonization  but didnt have an infection. Researchers culled some of the rare protective bacteria from the volunteers skin grew a larger supply and mixed a dose into an overthecounter moisturizer. Volunteers had the doctored lotion slathered onto one arm and regular moisturizer on the other.  A day later much of the staph on the treated arms was killed  and in two cases it was wiped out  compared to the untreated arms Gallo said.  Were encouraged that we see the Staph aureus which we know makes the disease worse go away he said.  The study couldnt address the bigger question of whether exposure to the right mix of protective bacteria might improve atopic dermatitis itself cautioned Mount Sinais GuttmanYassky.  Nextstep clinical trials are underway to start testing the effects of longerterm use."