Gut bacteria could be behind weaker immune responses to COVID-19 vaccine
Gut bacteria that break down a sugar called fucose could be dampening our immune response to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, according to a study led by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and ...
Keto diet may treat epilepsy by changing the gut microbiome | New Scientist
Mice that received gut microbes from children with epilepsy on the ketogenic diet were protected from seizures. The finding suggests the microbiome is behind the diet's seizure-reducing effect
Living with pet cats or dogs is associated with fewer food allergies in young children
In an analysis of more than 65,000 infants from Japan, children exposed to pet cats or indoor dogs during fetal development or early infancy tended to have fewer food allergies compared to other children, ...
Beneficial bacteria in the infant gut uses nitrogen from breast milk to support baby's health
A University of Massachusetts Amherst nutrition scientist who has spent his career studying breast milk has demonstrated how beneficial microbes in the gut of infants use nitrogen from human milk to support pediatric nutrition and development.
Microbes that feed on breast milk play key roles in an infant's growth, from jump-starting the immune and digestive systems to aiding in brain development
How fit is your gut microbiome? New research shows duration and not intensity of exercise is most important
Exercise has many benefits—strengthening muscles and bones, preventing disease and extending lifespan. It is also known to change the composition and activity of the trillions of microbes in our guts ...
Boosting survival of a beneficial bacterium in the human gut
The microbes that inhabit the gut are critical for human health, and understanding the factors that encourage the growth of beneficial bacterial species—known as "good" bacteria—in the gut may enable ...
Whether born naturally or via cesarean section, babies receive essential microbes from their mothers, says study
Do cesarean-born babies miss out on essential microbes? New evidence suggests that the answer may be "no." Researchers report on March 8 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe that mothers are able to transfer ...
Bacteriophage discovery to advance biotechnology and biotherapeutics - Nature Reviews Microbiology
This Genome Watch explores how large-scale microbiome studies are facilitating discoveries in bacteriophage biology and functional capabilities that are prime for translation towards advances in biotechnology and biotherapeutics.
'We're not all that different': Study IDs bacterial weapons that could be harnessed to treat human disease: Discovery of ancient immune-fighting machinery paves way toward more 'CRISPR'-like technologies
When it comes to fighting off invaders, bacteria operate in a remarkably similar way to human cells, possessing the same core machinery required to switch immune pathways on and off, according to new research.
Mounting evidence suggests that portions of the human immune system may have originated in bacteria, with evolution yielding more complex iterations of bacterial virus-fighting tools across plant and animal kingdoms.
A large team of cancer researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Germany, working with a colleague from the U.S., has discovered some of the ways gut bacteria can positively impact treatments for cancer. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group studied the impact of gut microbiota on chemotherapy given to patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Le Li and Florencia McAllister with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, have published a News and Views piece in the same journal issue, outlining the work done by the team in Germany.
Target the microbiome to improve child undernutrition, say researchers
Research led by Queen Mary University of London suggests that nutritional interventions used to tackle child undernutrition in lower and middle-income countries should target gut microbiome development, rather than just human nutritional needs, to more effectively improve child growth and development.
With fall and winter holidays coming up, many will be pondering the relationship between food and sleep. Researchers led by Professor Masashi Yanagisawa at the University of Tsukuba in Japan hope they can focus people on the important middlemen in the equation: bacterial microbes in the gut. Their detailed study in mice revealed the extent to which bacteria can change the environment and contents of the intestines, which ultimately impacts behaviors like sleep.
Research linking autism symptoms to gut microbes called 'groundbreaking'
A new study showing that feeding mice a beneficial type of bacteria can ameliorate autism-like symptoms is "groundbreaking," according to University of Colorado Boulder professor Rob Knight, who co-authored a commentary piece about the research appearing in the current issue of the journal Cell.
Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status
A prospective randomized multiomics study in humans investigating the longitudinal
effects of a high-fiber or fermented-food diet shows their differential effects on
the diversity of the microbiome, with the latter having a noticeable impact on reducing
inflammatory markers and modulating immune responses.
Fermented vs. high-fiber diet microbiome study delivers surprising results
Investigating the relationship between diet, gut bacteria and systemic inflammation, a team of Stanford University researchers has found just a few weeks of following a diet rich in fermented foods can lead to improvements in microbiome diversity and reductions in inflammatory biomarkers.
Deciphering the molecular language of the small intestine
Marco Jost will use small-intestine organoids and his expertise in RNA sequencing and CRISPR technologies to study host–microbiome molecular communication. He will examine how these interactions might influence the physiology of other organs.
A pioneering microbiome model for the small intestine
With his Global Grant for Gut Health, Purna Kashyap plans to create the first humanized mouse model of the small intestine to determine its role in modulating intestinal physiology and influencing gastrointestinal disease symptoms.
Why it’s the aliens living inside you that create your sense of you
Foreign cells within our bodies help determine our mental states and even contribute to our immune defences – making it tricky to define where you end and the others begin
A Self-Replicating Radiation-Shield for Human Deep-Space Exploration: Radiotrophic Fungi can Attenuate Ionizing Radiation aboard the International Space Station
Probiotics treatment improves cognitive impairment in patients and animals: A systematic review and meta-analysis
The gut–brain axis has received considerable attention in recent years, and the “psychobiotics” concept indicates that probiotics have a potential pos…
Jessica Green: We're covered in germs. Let's design for that.
Our bodies and homes are covered in microbes -- some good for us, some bad for us. As we learn more about the germs and microbes who share our living spaces, TED Fellow Jessica Green asks: Can we design buildings that encourage happy, healthy microbial environments?
Evidence found of link between gut microbe deficiency and autism spectrum disorder
A team of researchers affiliated with a host of institutions in China has found evidence of a gut microbe deficiency in children who develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of gut microbes in ASD children and what they found.
Now for something lighter. The website Science Daily reported on a study at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, to look at mold in houses reported to be haunted. The news announcement reports…
Transferring the gut microbes from a mouse with colon tumors to germ-free mice makes those mice prone to getting tumors as well, according to the results of a study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The work has implications for human health because it indicates the risk of colorectal cancer may well have a microbial component.
Origins of life? Discovery could help explain how first organisms emerged on Earth
(Phys.org) —A structural biologist at the Florida State University College of Medicine has made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.
Host genome controls skin microbiota and inflammation
Numerous studies have linked gut microbiota with various diseases such as obesity or diabetes. Little is known, however, on how gut and skin microbiota composition is controlled. In a recent study, researchers show that composition of skin microbiota is controlled by the host genome and that skin bacteria may have a greater influence on inflammatory diseases than previously thought. Their landmark findings will open the door to identify gene variants controlling skin microbiota and to define their link to various diseases such as skin inflammatory disorders.
Tropical forest carbon absorption may hinge on an odd couple
A Princeton University-based study found that a unique housing arrangement between trees in the legume family and the carbo-loading rhizobia bacteria may determine how well tropical forests can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The findings suggest that the role of tropical forests in offsetting the atmospheric buildup of carbon from fossil fuels depends on tree diversity.
