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Researchers find gut bacteria rapidly soak up ‘forever chemicals’

Scientists have demonstrated that select human gut bacteria can bioaccumulate and sequester PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, increasing faecal excretion in humanized mice. The findings reveal a potential microbiome-based strategy to reduce PFAS body burden, though clinical benefit in humans remains unproven.

1 Jul 2025

Scientists trace leprosy’s roots in South America back 4,000 years

Researchers have recovered and sequenced Mycobacterium lepromatosis genomes from 4,000-year-old human remains in Chile, providing the first molecular evidence of ancient leprosy in the Americas. The findings reveal the deep evolutionary roots and complex spread of Hansen’s disease long before European contact.

1 Jul 2025

Spaceflight exposes astronauts to hidden threats in their gut

This review highlights how the unique stressors of space travel, radiation, microgravity, and circadian disruption impact astronauts’ gut microbiomes, with potential consequences for their mood, cognition, and immunity. The authors call for targeted microbiome monitoring and dietary interventions to protect astronaut mental health on future missions.

1 Jul 2025

Prebiotics may boost brain GABA through gut microbiota

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is an amino acid functioning as the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter that can act on the brain to slow or stop the reception of certain signals to the brain, leading to a calmer and more relaxed state.

1 Jul 2025

Researchers uncover how RNA modifications evade immune detection

The innate immune system is the body's first line of defense against pathogens and foreign substances. An essential component of this system are pattern recognition receptors, which recognize non-self RNA - such as that from viruses and bacteria - and trigger an immune response.

1 Jul 2025

Researchers uncover how bacteria hijack tick cells to survive and spread

Washington State University researchers have discovered how the bacteria that cause anaplasmosis and Lyme disease hijack cellular processes in ticks to ensure their survival and spread to new hosts, including humans.

1 Jul 2025

Engineered protein silences harmful T cells in autoimmune disease

An engineered protein turns off the kind of immune cells most likely to damage tissue as part of Type-1 diabetes, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, shows a new study in mice.

1 Jul 2025

Genetic bottlenecks limit the rise of pandemic cholera strains

A new study by the Genomics and Microbial Evolution Group at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) together with the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, USA, sheds light on one of the great enigmas of microbiology: why only certain strains of common bacteria become pandemic pathogens.

30 Jun 2025

Ionophore use in farming drives global spread of antibiotic resistance genes, study finds

Researchers identified the widespread presence of the ionophore resistance genes narA and narB in over 2,400 bacterial isolates across 51 countries. These genes are often genetically linked to resistance against critically important human antibiotics, raising concerns over agricultural practices and global antimicrobial resistance.

30 Jun 2025

Beetle-inspired tuberculosis testing device offers accurate detection for people with HIV

Current tuberculosis infection tests struggle to detect the disease in those with HIV. A common co-infection, HIV can hide TB from traditional tests by eliminating the immune cells relied upon to sound the alarm.

27 Jun 2025

Global effort enters an active growth phase to preserve the Earth's microbial heritage

A global effort to create a "microbial Noah's Ark" to preserve the world's diverse collection of healthy microbes before they disappear is now entering an active growth phase.

27 Jun 2025

Pesticides found to disrupt specific gut bacteria linked to inflammation

While emerging evidence suggests pesticides can be toxic to the mix of microorganisms in the digestive system, a new study is the first to map changes to specific gut bacteria based on interactions between human microbes and insect-killing chemicals observed in the lab and an animal model.

27 Jun 2025

New center in Copenhagen to pioneer the future of protein design

Proteins are the workhorses of biology. They perform virtually every important function in living organisms. They store, copy and protect our DNA, digest food to give us energy, and harness this energy to make our cells and muscles work.

27 Jun 2025

New technology brings antibiotic resistance surveillance to the field

Antibiotics are one of the greatest triumphs in the history of medical science - but these lifesaving tools have a dark side.

26 Jun 2025

Do spicy foods help or hurt your gut health?

Capsaicin, the spicy compound in chili peppers, not only influences inflammation, metabolism, and cancer risk but also shapes the gut microbiome in complex, context-dependent ways. This comprehensive review highlights both the therapeutic promise and potential risks of capsaicin, calling for deeper research into its microbiome-mediated effects.

26 Jun 2025

Missing gut bacteria in US babies triples allergy and eczema risk

US infants lacking Bifidobacterium in their gut microbiome face significant changes in microbial composition, metabolic function, and immune-related health risks. This large, nationally representative study links early-life Bifidobacterium deficits to a three-fold increase in eczema, allergy, or asthma by age two.

25 Jun 2025

Deadly central line-associated bloodstream infections could be prevented using new e-catheter hub

Washington State University and Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an electrochemical catheter hub that could someday help prevent deadly central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) that annually kill thousands of people around the world.

25 Jun 2025

New insights into the role of diet and microbiome in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC), once primarily seen in older adults, is on the rise among younger individuals in developed countries.

25 Jun 2025

Plant-based diets may help prevent erectile dysfunction

A narrative review in The Journal of Nutrition suggests that whole-food plant diets may help prevent or improve erectile dysfunction (ED) by supporting vascular health and reducing risk factors such as LDL cholesterol and inflammation. However, most evidence is observational, and more clinical trials are needed.

25 Jun 2025

How a novel reaction in E. coli helps recycle plastic into paracetamol

Researchers have demonstrated that E. coli can perform a biocompatible Lossen rearrangement, enabling phosphate-catalysed conversion of synthetic substrates into valuable compounds. This approach allows engineered bacteria to upcycle PET plastic waste into paracetamol, highlighting a novel intersection of chemistry and biotechnology.

24 Jun 2025