Digestion News and Research

RSS

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.

Whole body vibration helps reduce inflammation, thanks to the gut microbiome

Whole body vibration appears to improve many symptoms of type II diabetes mellitus, wherein glucose and destructive inflammation shoots up. The procedure helps the body use glucose as an energy source, and at the same time, modify the microbiome to fight inflammation, a new study says.

6 Aug 2019

'Tickle' therapy may slow down an important effect associated with aging

'Tickling' the ear with a small electrical current appears to rebalance the autonomic nervous system for over-55s, potentially slowing down one of the effects of ageing, according to new research.

30 Jul 2019

Scientists develop 3D printed pill that samples bacteria found in the gut

The gut microbiome is made up of trillions of living microbes, and more than a thousand species of bacteria. It has been known that the gut plays major roles in the body’s health. A team of university engineers may have developed a way to study and collect samples of microbes living in the gut.

25 Jul 2019

Using laser-activated microrobots to deliver drug therapy

Targeting medical treatment to an ailing body part is a practice as old as medicine itself. A Band-Aid is placed on a skinned knee. Drops go into itchy eyes. A broken arm goes into a cast.

25 Jul 2019

Giving antibiotics prior to liver transplant leads to better liver function

A UCLA-led research team has found that giving mice antibiotics for 10 days prior to a liver transplant leads to better liver function after the surgery.

23 Jul 2019

'Dual burden' of prematurity and serious maternal complications occurs in one of 270 births

A quarter of women who have serious maternal complications during childbirth also have premature births, posing a "dual burden" on families, finds research from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, the University of California, San Francisco California Preterm Birth Initiative, and Stanford University.

17 Jul 2019

Mother calls for protein shake regulation after daughter dies

A mother is calling on the health industry to regulate sales of protein powder and supplements after her daughter died in 2017 due to a protein-heavy diet.

15 Jul 2019

Growth problems in preterm infants associated with altered gut bacteria

A team of researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago found that extremely premature babies fail to grow while others develop normally due to certain metabolic differences triggered by specific gut microbiome alterations.

10 Jul 2019

Quorn protein stimulates muscle building to a greater extent than milk protein

A study from the University of Exeter has found that mycoprotein, the protein-rich food source that is unique to Quorn products, stimulates post-exercise muscle building to a greater extent than milk protein.

3 Jul 2019

New computational modeling method predicts how gut microbes change over time

A new computational modeling method uses snapshots of which types of microbes are found in a person’s gut to predict how the microbial community will change over time.

From PLOS ONE 28 Jun 2019

Cascade aggravates hereditary storage diseases

In rare, hereditary storage diseases such as Sandhoff's disease or Tay-Sachs syndrome, the metabolic waste from accumulating gangliosides cannot be properly disposed of in the nerve cells because important enzymes are missing.

26 Jun 2019

Study uncovers new hunger pathway in the brain

A newly identified hunger pathway in the brain can quickly modify food intake in the presence of food, according to a study of mice published in JNeurosci.

From Society for Neuroscience 25 Jun 2019

FDA approves first non-insulin drug for treatment of pediatric patients with type 2 diabetes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Victoza (liraglutide) injection for treatment of pediatric patients 10 years or older with type 2 diabetes.

18 Jun 2019

Chemicals produced by gut microbiome could help identify children at risk of organ failure

Chemicals produced by healthy bacteria could be used to assess the health of the gut microbiome and help identify critically-ill children at greatest risk of organ failure, a study published in Critical Care Medicine has found.

14 Jun 2019

Research aims to use orange peels for improving heart health

You've heard an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Now orange peels may improve your heart health.

13 Jun 2019

Stress-induced changes in heart rate may impair auditory perception

Sudden hearing loss can be experienced in highly stressful situations, usually lasting a short time. Researchers at São Paulo State University in Brazil, collaborating with colleagues at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, have reported a discovery that contributes to a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.

7 Jun 2019

Gut bacteria linked to metabolic changes and autism in new study

Researchers have made an important discovery that may explain how gut bacteria could contribute to autism-like behaviors.

31 May 2019

Archaeological evidence shows anatomically modern humans were roasting and eating plant starches

New discoveries made at the Klasies River Cave in South Africa's southern Cape, where charred food remains from hearths were found, provide the first archaeological evidence that anatomically modern humans were roasting and eating plant starches, such as those from tubers and rhizomes, as early as 120,000 years ago.

20 May 2019

Newly discovered bacteria-killing protein on the epidermis requires vitamin A to work

People who have inadequate vitamin A in their diets are more susceptible to skin infection, yet how that vitamin affects skin immunity has been unclear.

16 May 2019

Blocking protein-digesting enzyme may help improve metabolic health

Blocking the action of an enzyme involved in protein digestion may improve metabolic health, according to a new study published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology--Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

8 May 2019