Metagenomics News and Research

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SARS-CoV-2 pandemic underscores importance of understanding evolution of RNA genomes

The current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), underscores the importance of understanding the evolution of ribonucleic acid (RNA) genomes.

21 Apr 2021

Microba Life Sciences joins with Unilever to explore links between the gut microbiome and sleep

Experts in gut microbiome analysis, Microba Life Sciences, is empowering global consumer goods company Unilever to take a novel approach to this problem by exploring the links between sleep and the human gut with the aim to improve sleep for people across the globe.

17 Mar 2021

Microbes could predict fatal outcomes in ventilated COVID-19 patients

The study "Microbial signatures in the lower airways of mechanically ventilated COVID19 patients associated with poor clinical outcome" is available as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.

25 Feb 2021

High-throughput sequencing could allow detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater

A new study reports the use of metagenomics to detect the virus from wastewater samples, indicating community-level circulating variants that are not yet identified or are present in very low proportions on clinical databases.

15 Feb 2021

Study uncovers strong links between a person's diet, gut microbes and health

Diets rich in certain plant-based foods are linked with the presence of gut microbes that are associated with a lower risk of developing conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to recent results from a large-scale international study that included researchers from King's College London, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Trento, Italy, and health science start-up company ZOE.

11 Jan 2021

Clinical metagenomics, a faster approach to identify secondary infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Scientists have demonstrated that clinical metagenomic detection of microbial communities can improve the management of infections in COVID-19 patients.

4 Dec 2020

Researchers create first map of microbiome of dental black plaque in adults

The dark pigmentations that appear around the gums on dental enamel have a bacterial origin and there is currently no definitive therapy to remove it entirely.

3 Dec 2020

Scientists develop new bioinformatics pipeline to identify viruses in environmental samples

Researchers from the University of Helsinki have developed a novel bioinformatics pipeline called Lazy pipe for identifying viruses in host-associated or environmental samples.

3 Dec 2020

Genomic sequence of the White House "superspreader" event

Now, a new study revealed the genetic signature of the SARS-CoV-2 that spread in the White House and most likely infected President Trump. The team applied genomic epidemiology to shed light on the origins of the outbreak

2 Nov 2020

Cloud-based tool can rapidly detect and track emerging pathogens

Published today in the journal GigaScience is a new open source, cloud-based tool called IDseq that makes it possible to rapidly detect, identify, and track emerging pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.

15 Oct 2020

NAU researcher awarded $3.75 million NCI grant to build cancer research software

Greg Caporaso, director of the Center for Applied Microbiome Science, part of the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University, has been awarded a $3.75 million grant by the National Cancer Institute to build software capable of analyzing and archiving data focused on the interplay between the human microbiome (the trillions of microorganisms living in and on the human body) and diverse types of cancer.

22 Sep 2020

Gut microbiota composition and function not related to onset of gestational diabetes

Maternal overweight and obesity increase the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Gut microbiota composition has recently been associated with both overweight and a range of metabolic diseases.

9 Sep 2020

From swab to sequencing - scalable method for identifying SARS-CoV-2

A research group headed by Stanford University scientists has developed a scalable, high throughput method to generate high fidelity whole genome and HLA sequencing, viral genomes, and representation of human transcriptome from single nasopharyngeal swabs of coronavirus disease (COVID19) patients. Their results are published on the medRxiv preprint server.

30 Jul 2020

Portable lab kit helps detect waterborne hazards

A portable testing lab that fits into a suitcase is being hailed as the key to tackling one of the world's biggest dangers to health.

14 Jul 2020

Stool microbial and metabolite signatures predict cirrhosis

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting an estimated one-quarter of the global population. It is a progressive condition that, in worst cases, can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and death.

30 Jun 2020

'Microbial dark matter' can affect cholesterol levels in humans

In the darkest parts of the world where light fails to block out the unfathomable bounty of the stars, look up. There are still fewer specks illuminating the universe than there are bacteria in the world, hidden from sight, a whole universe inside just one human gut.

17 Jun 2020

Common cholesterol-lowering drug linked to improvement in gut microbiota

There is a clear link between improved gut microbiota and one of our most common cholesterol-lowering drug groups: statins.

15 Jun 2020

Study identifies two new viruses in Brazilian patients with suspected dengue

Two new species of viruses have been identified in blood samples taken from patients in Brazil's northern region who had similar symptoms to those of dengue or Zika, such as high fever, severe headache, rash and red skin spots.

17 Apr 2020

Cultural transition to agriculture linked with emergence of human-adapted pathogens

Using Salmonella enterica genomes recovered from human skeletons as old as 6,500 years, an international team of researchers illustrates the evolution of a human pathogen and provides the first ancient DNA evidence in support of the hypothesis that the cultural transition from foraging to farming facilitated the emergence of human-adapted pathogens that persist until today.

25 Feb 2020

Bacterial viruses in intestinal tracts of children may play a role in stunting

New research spearheaded by McGill University has discovered that bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) found in the intestinal tracts of children may play a role in childhood stunting, a significant impediment to growth that affects 22% of children under the age of five around the world.

12 Feb 2020