MODEL RELEASED. Artificial gut research. Technician counting bacterial colonies growing on MacConkey's agar in a petri dish. These bacteria are used in research using an artificial gut to model the human intestines. The model allows the health effects of real gut bacteria to be assessed. Certain intestinal bacteria may cause or protect against diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and bowel cancer. The system can also be used to test the effects of prebiotics, nutrients that are eaten to encourage the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. The artificial gut was built at Reading University, England, by a team led by Professor Glenn Gibson.