Social network connects those whose hearts burn

Ever had a gut feeling about love?

The heart says yes, but this stomach microbe says no.

I did, once, after eating at El Myr Burrito Lounge in Little 5 Points, but it turned out to be early onset diarrhea.

Fortunately for those who can’t find a special someone in church, bars or therapy groups, biochemist Peer Bork, whose name I did not just make up, had a more benign gut feeling and created a non-profit website — mymicrobes.eu — that serves as a social network, DNA database and a place for people to share gastrointestinal woes.

For $2,100 users can — after mailing a stool sample to Paris, France — have their intestinal bacteria DNA sequenced, which will allegedly “provide a bounty of data while helping volunteers connect with one another,” according to a Nature.com article.

An article on Mother Nature Network suggests the site can potentially help those with heartburn make a “special connection.”

The website indicates 132 people have registered their interest in the project.

“It requires a critical number [5,000] of participants. … We might fail to get that critical mass,” says Bork.

I’d say that’s a pretty good bet.