Digestion News and Research

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Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be absorbed, for instance, into a blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism; a break-down of macro food molecules to smaller ones.

Gut microbes can tamp down or boost the severity of norovirus infection

The highly contagious norovirus causes diarrhea and vomiting and is notorious for spreading rapidly through densely populated spaces, such as cruise ships, nursing homes, schools and day care centers. Each year, it is responsible for some 200,000 deaths, mostly in the developing world.

25 Nov 2019

Discovery enables strategies to be developed for preventing malaria transmission

The bacteria that form the gut microbiota influence important processes of the human body, such as digestion, nutrient absorption, and defense against pathogens. The same type of relationship is present in most animals, including in the Anhopheles darlingi mosquito, the main vector of malaria in Brazil.

22 Nov 2019

Breakthrough therapy could improve health and survival in people with cystic fibrosis

Researchers at the Children's Hospital Colorado Breathing Institute, one of the largest cystic fibrosis clinical care centers in the U.S., are part of a Therapeutics Development Network that oversaw clinical trials leading to FDA approval of TRIKAFTA, a new, highly-effective CF treatment for people with CF 12 years of age and older.

20 Nov 2019

Cleveland Clinic receives NIH grant to study link between gut microbes, cardiometabolic diseases

The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $12 million to Cleveland Clinic researchers to study the critical link between gut microbial pathways and the development of cardiometabolic diseases.

19 Nov 2019

Lab Innovations 2019 achieves record breaking numbers

Lab Innovations celebrated its 8th edition on 30 & 31 October 2019, trumping all records for the event. Attracting 3,860 attendees - an impressive 24% increase on the previous year - this makes it the largest Lab Innovations to date.

From Lab Innovations 15 Nov 2019

Machine learning algorithm predicts life expectancy in heart failure patients

When Avi Yagil, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Physics at University of California San Diego flew home from Europe in 2012, he thought he had caught a cold from his travels. When a "collection of pills" did not improve his symptoms, his wife encouraged him to see a doctor.

13 Nov 2019

Exercise causes changes to some of the body's metabolites, research finds

New research finds that exercise causes changes to some of the body's metabolites - small molecules the body produces during metabolism.

7 Nov 2019

Plant-based meals are heart-healthy, popular with students

Vegan school lunches contain triple the amount of heart-healthy fiber found in standard entrées, according to a new case study published in The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management. Fiber is an important nutrient that not only aids heart health, but also boosts digestion, weight loss, and cancer prevention.

4 Nov 2019

Abnormal gut microbiome in premature infants associated with growth faltering

The more abnormal the microbiome in NICU infants, the more likely they are to experience stunted growth even at 4 years of age.

4 Nov 2019

A type of gut bacteria may increase risk of bowel cancer

People with a certain type of bacteria in their guts may be more likely to develop bowel cancer.

4 Nov 2019

Certain gut bacteria can increase the risk of bowel cancer, shows study

People who have a certain type of bacteria in their guts may be at greater risk of developing bowel cancer.

3 Nov 2019

Tumour conversion of glial cells when exposed to bowel cancer secretions

A new study has shown that glial cells of the gut (part of the enteric nervous system) when exposed to secretions from colon cancer cells are convert into tumours themselves. These altered glial cells then convert into promoters of tumours said the study researchers.

31 Oct 2019

Common things you need to know about pancreatitis

The pancreas is an important part of the digestive system that converts the food we eat into fuel for the body's cells. Responsible for two main functions, the pancreas helps digestion and regulates blood sugar. However, the pancreas can become inflamed, which causes pancreatitis to occur.

31 Oct 2019

Chemotherapy-induced senescent cells eat neighboring cells

A new study has found that chemotherapy-induced senescent cancer cells feed on other neighboring cells to enhance their survival.

30 Oct 2019

Global warming predicted to increase undernutrition

Global warming may increase undernutrition through the effects of heat exposure on people, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Yuming Guo of Monash University, Australia, and colleagues.

29 Oct 2019

Gut microbiome is a reality in fetal life also

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that in both mice and humans, the fetal gut has its own microbiome, which is probably derived straight from the maternal organism.

24 Oct 2019

Newly discovered protein is key to recycling aging mitochondria

Aging, and the mechanics behind it, remains one of the most closely guarded secrets of life.

24 Oct 2019

Mung bean protein supplement can improve physical strength without exercise, study shows

People have a number of reasons for adopting plant-based diets, from improving their health to concerns about animal treatment to a desire to minimize their carbon footprint. But there is one good reason to be mindful of how they do so: the possibility of becoming nutrient deficient.

23 Oct 2019

Antibiotic treatment can cause transient and long-term disruption of gut microbes

Trillions of microbes in the intestine aid human health, including digestion of breast milk, breaking down fiber and helping control the immune system.

22 Oct 2019

Researchers develop simple, low-cost way to predict preeclampsia

Australian researchers have developed a way to predict the onset of a deadly pregnancy condition that kills 76,000 women and half a million babies each year, mostly in developing countries.

22 Oct 2019