UC Davis Health researchers has discovered a novel bioelectrical mechanism pathogens like Salmonella use to find entry points in the gut lining that would allow them to pass and cause infection.
Tag: Microbiota
Getting to the Root of a Plant’s Success
Plants are powerful factories – they can turn basic ingredients like carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight into oxygen, sugars, and plant mass. But plants don’t do all of this work on their own. Below the soil’s surface, plant roots work with tiny microbes to gain access to the nutrients they need to survive.
Ingestible Microbiome Sampling Pill Technology Advances
Significant progress has been made in the development of a small device, about the size of a vitamin pill, that can be swallowed and passed through the gastrointestinal tract to sample and help identify the full inventory of microbiome bacteria in an individual.
Weight gain is kicked to the curb in antipsychotic drug breakthrough
World first research from the University of South Australia shows that antipsychotics can be reformulated with a strategically engineered coating that not only mitigates unwanted weight gain but also boosts serotonin levels by more than 250%.
Autism’s Missing Microbes May Influence Social Behavior by Protecting the Gut
For people with autism, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain often go along with the social struggles and repetitive behaviors that define the condition. This has prompted many to wonder whether gastrointestinal (GI) problems arise due to autism’s behavioral or sensory features, or whether they might instead contribute to them.
Unraveling the link between microbiome and esophageal cancer: new insights from recent research
Esophageal cancer (EC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis, with its development and progression potentially influenced by changes in the esophageal microbiome. Recent studies have revealed that specific microbiome compositions might be linked to EC’s development, response to treatment, and patient prognosis.
Who knew that eating poo was so vital for birds’ survival?
New research led by the University of South Australia explains how eating faeces (known as coprophagy) shapes wild birds’ digestive tracts (gut biota), enabling them to absorb lost or deficient nutrients and adjust to seasonal variations in food sources.
Proven for the first time: The microbiome of fruit and vegetables positively influences diversity in the gut
In a meta-study, a research team from the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology at Graz University of Technology has provided evidence that the consumption of fruit and vegetables contributes positively to bacterial diversity in the human gut.
More Studies Needed to Understand True Impact of Microbiota on Cancer Development, Treatment
How microbiota — microbes that live on human surfaces — impact cancer development and therapy has become an expansive area of research.
Menstrual cups can help prevent infection, improve vaginal health
Kenyan teenage girls who were given menstrual cups were less likely to acquire certain kinds of vaginal infections and were more likely to have a healthy vaginal microbiome, found a study by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.
Host Genetics Play a Significant Role in the Composition of Switchgrass Root Microbiomes
A new study investigated the role of the genes in individual switchgrass plants in determining the composition of the bacterial communities associated with the plants’ roots.
Technique Restores Healthy Bacterial Balance in C-Section Babies
Newborns delivered by cesarean section who are swabbed with the vaginal fluid of their mothers after birth have beneficial bacteria restored to their skin surface and stools, according to a new study. In the first randomized study of its kind, published in the science journal mBio, a team of researchers found the process, known as vaginal seeding, definitively engrafted new strains of maternal bacteria in the babies’ bodies.
Gene Expression in Kidneys Is Regulated by the Microbiome in Sex- and Tissue-specific Ways
Article title: Commensal microbiota regulate renal gene expression in a sex-specific manner Authors: Brittni N. Moore and Jennifer L. Pluznick From the authors: “This report demonstrates that renal gene expression is modulated by the microbiome in a sex- and tissue-specific…
CHOP Researchers Show that IgA Fine Tunes the Body’s Interactions with Microbes
A new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has demonstrated that IgA acts as a “tuner” that regulates the number of microbes the body sees every day, restraining the systemic immune response to these commensal microbes and limiting the development of systemic immune dysregulation.
Lack of Intestinal Microbiota in Mouse Model Associated with Reduced Epithelial Cell Renewal
Article title: Absence of gut microbiota impairs depletion of Paneth cells but not goblet cells in germ-free Atoh1lox/lox VilCreERT2 mice Authors: Mohsin Hassan, Oriol Juanola, Stefania Huber, Philipp Kellmann, Jakob Zimmermann, Edoardo Lazzarini, Stephanie C. Ganal-Vonarburg, Mercedes Gomez de Agüero,…
Nutrition expert: An avocado a day improves gut health and cuts down belly fat for women
University of Illinois researchers found that people who ate avocado daily as part of a meal had a greater abundance of gut microbes that break down fiber and produce metabolites that support gut health. Study participants consumed their normal diets…
New live bacterial product for stubborn superbug improves quality of life
Kevin Garey, professor of pharmacy practice and translational research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy is reporting the first well-controlled study to demonstrate that a microbiome therapeutic, SER-109, is associated with significant quality of life improvement in patients with the debilitating recurrent infection and disease caused by Clostridium difficile (or C. diff).
Keeping Kermit healthy
A world-first study from the University of South Australia shows that while Bd can significantly reduce in captive frogs, captivity can have negative consequences for the frogs’ protective skin microbiota, providing new insight into diversity management.
Bacterial Bullseye
The study findings suggest possibilities for developing new drugs that replicate or build on A. muciniphila’s immuno-modulatory activity.
The work provides a model for using traditional techniques to pinpoint how other members of the gut microbiome act on the body.
Common Prebiotic Fiber Mitigates Harm of High-salt Diet in Rats
New research in rats finds a diet high in the fiber inulin offered a protective effect against the damage of a high-salt diet. The research will be presented this week at the American Physiological Society and American Society for Nephrology Control of Renal Function in Health and Disease conference
Move Over, Gut Microbiota—Skin and Mouth Bacteria May Help Regulate Blood Pressure Too
New research in rats finds specific bacteria populations in the mouth and on the skin may be beneficial in blood pressure regulation. The first-of-its-kind study is published ahead of print in Physiological Genomics.
Children’s dislike of cauliflower, broccoli could be written in their microbiome
Researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have found that levels of volatile, sulfurous compounds are similar in parent-child pairs, suggesting shared oral microbiomes. They also found that high levels cause children to dislike the vegetables.
Geographic differences in gut microbiota boost immunity
Gut reaction: Cornell researchers “humanized” mice with microbiota from three global populations and found that microbial differences alone can impact immune responses.
Babies at Risk for Diabetes May Have Microbiota Restored
Newborns at risk for Type 1 diabetes because they were given antibiotics may have their gut microorganisms restored with a maternal fecal transplant, according to a Rutgers study.
Fungi That Live in the Gut Influence Health and Disease
Bacteria’s role in gut health has received a lot of attention in recent years. But new research publishing in Nature shows that fungi—another microorganism that lives within us—may be equally important in health and disease. Fungi thrive in the healthy gut, but when interactions with the immune system are off-balance, they cause intestinal damage that may contribute to gastrointestinal disease. Additional investigation demonstrate that vaccines could be developed as therapeutics to improve gut health.
Beneficial Bacteria Can Be Restored to C-Section Babies at Birth
Babies born by cesarean section don’t have the same healthy bacteria as those born vaginally, but a Rutgers-led study for the first time finds that these natural bacteria can be restored.
How the Body Builds a Healthy Relationship with “Good” Gut Bacteria
Research published in Nature reveals insights into how the body maintains balance with “good” gut bacteria that allows these microbes to flourish in the intestine but keeps them out of tissues and organs where they’re not supposed to be.
Infant Antibiotic Exposure Can Affect Future Immune Responses Toward Allergies
Early life exposure to antibotics in utero and through mother’s milk disrupts beneficial gut bacteria, compromising T-cell development, Rutgers research shows
ANTIVIRAL DEFENSE FROM THE GUT
Study demonstrates how a subset of common gut bacteria renders mice resistant to viral infections.
The Hidden Reason Children Born by C-Section Are More Likely to Develop Asthma
Researchers at Rutgers University, the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood and the University of Copenhagen have described for the first time how delivery by caesarean section interferes with a baby’s ability to obtain beneficial germs from the mother’s microbiome, and how this can lead to early childhood asthma.
High-fat diet with antibiotic use linked to gut inflammation
UC Davis researchers have found that combining a Western-style high-fat diet with antibiotic use significantly increases the risk of developing pre- inflammatory bowel disease. This combination shuts down the mitochondria in cells of the colon lining, leading to gut inflammation. Mesalazine can help restart the mitochondria and treat pre-IBD condition.
Antibiotics in Early Life Slows Digestive Nerve Function, Alters Microbiome
A new study finds antibiotic exposure during crucial developmental periods in early childhood alters digestive tract nerve function and bacterial colonies. The study is published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.
Biocodex Microbiota Foundation Announces Open Call for 2020 US Research Grant Applications
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.
“Microbial Noah’s Ark” Initiative Should Move to Next Phase, Study Finds
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.
Memorial Sloan Kettering – Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership Announces Funding for Inaugural Immunology Research Collaboration Projects
The Memorial Sloan Kettering – Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership has formed an Immunology Research Collaboration, through which researchers can apply for funding to support innovative investigations to explore the power of the immune system and ways it may be harnessed to fight cancer. Three researchers’ projects were selected in 2020 for funding support.
Scientists Find Links Between Digestive Processing Time, Stool Consistency and Gut Microbiome Composition
Article title: Distal colonic transit is linked to gut microbiota diversity and microbial fermentation in humans with slow colonic transit Authors: Mattea Müller, Gerben D.A. Hermes, Emanuel E. Canfora, Hauke Smidt, Ad A.M. Masclee, Erwin G. Zoetendal, Ellen E. Blaak From…