news, journals and articles from all over the world.
Researchers examined prenatal stool (meconium) samples collected from 20 babies during breech Cesarean delivery. By including only breech caesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women they were able to avoid the transmission of bacteria that occurs naturally during a vaginal birth.
Research on biomarkers, carcinogenesis, regulatory science, and more is available in the latest issue of Toxicological Sciences.
Hertz Fellow Ravi Sheth was awarded the 2020 Hertz Thesis Prize for developing new tools used in microbial research.
The University of Chicago Medicine is launching an innovative center that will research how infant health can impact an individuals’ health throughout their lifetime.
Wildfires affect both the visible parts of plants and the plant microbiome. Understanding these effects helps scientists mitigate the effects of wildfires. This research examined microbial DNA samples from tissues of young quaking aspen saplings after a prescribed burn. Aspen relies largely on fire to regenerate. This work demonstrates that fire affects the entire plant microbiome, not just nearby soil.
Exposure to soil microorganisms, human health closely related
MEDIA ADVISORY – UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL Monday, April 5 at 11:00 AM EST Journal Name: …
The Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Yardena Samuels, Prof. Eran Segal, and Dr. Ravid Straussman, with partners at MD Anderson Cancer Center, the NCI, and elsewhere, have discovered that the bacteria living inside cancer cells can be harnessed to provoke an immune reaction against the tumor. The work could also help explain findings showing that the microbiome affects the success of immunotherapy.
Research on the relationship between the gut microbiome and diet can provide insights into diseases like depression and other health conditions.
These news briefs cover topics including gut microbes, tsetse flies in 3D, an energy use framework for heating and cooling, and new gravitational lensing candidates.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Feb. 2, 2021) — What does bile acid production in the digestive tract have to do with Parkinson’s disease?
Sediments on the ocean floor contain large amounts of methane. Two groups of microbes work together in symbiosis to break down this methane in oxygen-deprived sediments. New research shows that both groups can fix nitrogen to satisfy their need for nutrients from methane. This helps the microbes hedge against changes in their environment.
A new study out of the University of Chicago and Stanford University on pairs of twins with and without food allergies has identified potential microbial players in this condition.
Chemicals used for vaping break down zipper-like junctions between cells in the gut, leading to chronic inflammation and potential for other health concerns.
Antibiotics for cesarean section births are just as effective when they’re given after the umbilical cord is clamped as before clamping – the current practice – and could benefit newborns’ developing microbiomes, according to Rutgers co-authored research. The study, by far the largest of its kind and published in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, challenges current recommendations for antibiotic use. Administering antibiotics after clamping does not increase the risk of infection at the site of C-section incisions, the study concludes.
A new study out of UChicago and the Marine Biological Laboratory used state-of-the-art sequencing technology to deep-screen the genomes of microbes known as TM7 present in the mouth. This approach determined that TM7 species living on the tongue more closely resembled those found in the GI tract, while TM7 species in dental plaque more closely resembled environmental species, providing a hint at how plaque may have played a role in microbial colonization of the body.
The bacteria, yeast and viruses that make up the human microbiome affect physical health, behavior and emotions. Some microbes in the human microbiome prosper when the body is under stress, while other microbes contribute to buffering the body against stress. Evolutionary theory suggests reciprocal relationships between microbes in the human body and stress; these relationships can possibly be harnessed to promote physical and mental health.
An enzyme in the colon lining releases hydrogen peroxide – a known disinfecting compound- to protect the body from gut microbial communities. Findings from the UC Davis Health study points to importance of considering a different approach to treating gut inflammation and bacterial imbalance in the colon.
Two Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers, one a world-leading authority on microorganisms and their impact on soil and human health, and the other an expert on coastal ecosystem restoration, have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
ORNL’s Paul Kent, Dr. Bart Iddins and two teams were recognized for leadership and accomplishment in science, technology and mission support.
Hertz Fellow Cheri Ackerman, Cofounder and CEO of Concerto Biosciences, has received the Hertz Foundation’s Harold Newman and David Galas Entrepreneurial Initiative Award. She plans to use the $25,000 grant to help her company find solutions for human health and agriculture using unique ensembles of microbes.
Scientists have discovered how a common virus in the human gut infects and takes over bacterial cells – a finding that could be used to control the composition of the gut microbiome, which is important for human health. The Rutgers co-authored research, which could aid efforts to engineer beneficial bacteria that produce medicines and fuels and clean up pollutants, is published in the journal Nature.
Study demonstrates how a subset of common gut bacteria renders mice resistant to viral infections.
Children under age 2 who take antibiotics are at greater risk for childhood-onset asthma, respiratory allergies, eczema, celiac disease, obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a paper written jointly by Mayo Clinic and Rutgers researchers. While previous studies have looked at the association of antibiotics with single diseases, this is the first to look at the association across many diseases.
Advanced X-ray techniques yield insights into a bacterial enzyme that turns methane gas into liquid fuel, and a genome resource expands known diversity of bacteria and archaea by 44%
Reported in Nature Biotechnology, the known diversity of bacteria and archaea has been expanded by 44% through a publicly available collection of more than 52,000 microbial genomes from environmental samples resulting from a JGI-led collaboration involving more than 200 scientists around the world.
A study of the relationships between cognition and the gut microbiome of captive zebra finches showed that their gut microbiome characteristics were related to performance on a cognitive assay where they learned a novel foraging technique. Researchers also identified potentially critical bacteria that were relatively more abundant in birds that performed better on this assay. This correlation provides some of the first evidence of a relationship between a bird’s gut microbiome and its brain.
Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings and other news with links for additional background and media contacts.
Liver failure – often due to acetaminophen overdose – is fatal in 80% of cases. The labs of Profs. Ido Amit and Eran Elinav discovered three liver-cell subsets that contribute to disease progression, and found that depleting the microbiome acts on those subsets to reduce liver damage and increase survival rates. The research may lead to treatments for liver failure.
For a honey bee, few things are more important than recognizing your nestmates. Being able to tell a nestmate from an invader could mean the difference between a honey-stocked hive and a long, lean winter. New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that honey bees rely on chemical cues related to their shared gut microbial communities, instead of genetic relatedness, to identify members of their colony.
Oni Basu, PhD, an assistant professor of genetic medicine at the University of Chicago, has received the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award. These awards are given to exceptionally creative scientists proposing high-risk, high-impact research at all career stages.
Background: Commensal gut microbes are known to affect host immune function and may be modifiable….
Why do some people have severe reactions to COVID whereas others do not? Are there overlooked or unexplained factors in how people respond to the COVID virus connected to their gut microbiome? Could microbiome predict the severity of illness among those exposed to the virus?
New research in mice suggests a protein found predominately in white blood cells helps keep gastrointestinal bacteria in balance and may protect against metabolic disorders.
The National Institute on Aging has awarded a grant to researchers at New York University College of Dentistry to explore age-related, chronic low-grade inflammation and changes in the gut microbiome.
There is currently much interest in the gastrointestinal microbiota and its modulation as it relates to implications for host health. A notable aspect is the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and brain, referred to as the gut-brain-axis. Nutritional interventions have powerful effects on the gut microbiota but another significant and often overlooked factor is the influence of physical activity.
A new UChicago study describes inter- and intra-species diversity within the Lachnospiraceae bacteria family.
The Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine and DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences have announced a new collaboration in the field of microbiome science they hope will improve cancer treatment.
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that mice infected with Chikungunya virus get less sick and are less likely to transmit the virus to mosquitoes if they have healthy gut microbiomes.
UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers report that stool microbiomes of NAFLD patients are distinct enough to potentially be used to accurately predict which persons with NAFLD are at greatest risk for having cirrhosis.
The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, an organization founded by Biocodex and committed to inspiring scientific projects that investigate the implication of microbiota in human health, has announced the open call for applications for its annual US research grant, now in its fourth year.
The role genetics and gut bacteria play in human health has long been a fruitful source of scientific enquiry, but new research marks a significant step forward in unraveling this complex relationship.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have determined that genetics may play a role in how wounds heal. Caleb Phillips, an assistant professor at Texas Tech University and director of the Phillips Laboratory in the Department of Biological Sciences, and doctoral student Craig Tipton led the study, “Patient genetics is linked to chronic wound microbiome composition and healing,” published Thursday (June 18) in the open-access, peer-reviewed medical journal PLOS Pathogens.
A 2003 hypothesis says Parkinson’s disease is caused by a gut pathogen that could spread to the brain through the nervous system. No evidence was found until now; researchers report for the first time a significant overabundance of a cluster of opportunistic pathogens in the PD gut.
A new study describes how poor oral health may worsen gut inflammation.
A new study finds that a Rutgers-driven proposal to create a “microbial Noah’s ark” to protect the long-term health of humanity is feasible and should move forward into a pilot project phase.
A new study shows that people with a rare genetic disease that causes bleeding in the brain have gut microbiomes distinct from those without the disease.
A research team led by the University of Adelaide has found that revegetation of green spaces within cities can improve soil microbiota diversity towards a more natural, biodiverse state, which has been linked to human health benefits.
In the study, published in the journal Restoration Ecology, researchers compared the composition of a variety of urban green space vegetation types of varying levels of vegetation diversity, including lawns, vacant lots, parklands, revegetated woodlands and remnant woodlands within the City of Playford Council area in South Australia.
A microbiome “fingerprint” method shows that an individualized mosaic of microbial strains is transmitted to the infant gut microbiome from a mother giving vaginal birth. The study analyzed existing metagenomic databases of fecal samples from mother-infant pairs and used a germfree mouse model.
Scientists have traced the molecular connections between genetics, the gut microbiome and memory in a mouse model bred to resemble the diversity of the human population. Researchers from two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories identified lactate, a molecule produced by all species of one gut microbe, as a key memory-boosting molecular messenger.