The Microbiome Project News and Research

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The human microbiome refers to the entire community of microorganisms that live on or in the human body. More specifically, it refers to all of the genes in these microbes, which include bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses.

UC San Diego School of Medicine launches new NAFLD Research Center

Roughly one-quarter of all Americans - an estimated 100 million adults and children - have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a chronic condition that can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.

9 Feb 2016

Gut microbes influence severity of malaria

Microorganisms in the gut could play a role in reducing the severity of malaria, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Louisville.

9 Feb 2016

New method could help physicians detect infection in wounds in less than a minute

A new method for detection of infection in wounds could take physicians less than a minute to complete, rather than the current 24 hours it takes to plate bacteria and leave it to incubate overnight, according to research by the George Washington University's Victoria Shanmugam, M.D.

7 Feb 2016

Mount Sinai researchers report new method to restore microbiome of newborns delivered via C-section

Scientists from the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, collaborating with NYU Langone Medical Center and a multi-center team of researchers, demonstrated for the first time that the microbiome of newborn babies delivered via cesarean section (C-section) can be partially restored to resemble that of vaginally delivered infants.

2 Feb 2016

Experts call for new approach to asthma and COPD patient management

Defining a patient's symptoms using the historical diagnostic labels of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an outdated approach to understanding an individual's condition, according to experts writing in the European Respiratory Journal today (Feb. 1, 2016).

1 Feb 2016

CosmosID announces $6M in Series B funding round

CosmosID, the leading genomic big data company focused on microbiome research, outbreak investigations, and infectious disease diagnostics, using next-generation DNA sequencing, announced $6M in Series B funding.

28 Jan 2016

Diet rich in fiber may reduce risk of developing lung disease

A diet rich in fiber may not only protect against diabetes and heart disease, it may reduce the risk of developing lung disease, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

25 Jan 2016

UC San Diego researchers develop rapid susceptibility test for Staphylococcus aureus

A team of biologists and biomedical researchers at UC San Diego has developed a new method to determine if bacteria are susceptible to antibiotics within a few hours, an advance that could slow the appearance of drug resistance and allow doctors to more rapidly identify the appropriate treatment for patients with life threatening bacterial infections.

25 Jan 2016

Antivirulence antibiotics could evade resistance longer than traditional antibiotics

We've all seen the headlines. "Man found to be shedding virulent strain of polio"; "Virulent flu strain in Europe hits the economy"; "Most virulent strain of E. coli ever seen contains DNA sequences from plague bacteria."

19 Jan 2016

Frozen fecal transplantation effective at providing relief to C. diff patients

Frozen fecal transplantation is effective at providing relief to Clostridium difficile (C. diff) patients, according to a new study co-authored by University of Guelph researchers.

18 Jan 2016

Researcher seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat Clostridium difficile infections

Antibiotics that fight infection can adversely affect the digestive tract and give destructive bacteria a chance to flourish, said assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences Joy Scaria of South Dakota State University. His research seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat intestinal infections, such as Clostridium difficile.

12 Jan 2016

Scientists seek development of advanced tools to explore microbiomes

In October, an interdisciplinary group of scientists proposed forming a Unified Microbiome Initiative (UMI) to explore the world of microorganisms that are central to life on Earth and yet largely remain a mystery. An article in the journal ACS Nano describes the tools scientists will need to understand how microbes interact with each other and with us.

7 Jan 2016

Good bacteria can help inhibit growth of S. pneumoniae

A new study from the Forsyth Institute is helping to shed more light on the important connections among the diverse bacteria in our microbiome. According to research published in mBio, scientists at Forsyth, led by Dr. Katherine P. Lemon, along with their collaborator at Vanderbilt University, have demonstrated that a harmless bacterium found in the nose and on skin may negatively impact the growth of a pathogen that commonly causes middle ear infections in children and pneumonia in children and older adults.

6 Jan 2016

Drug-microbe interactions may contribute to adverse effects, lessen effectiveness of NSAID

A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) changed the composition and diversity of gut microbes, which in turn shaped how the drug is broken down and ultimately, cut its effectiveness, according to an animal study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

5 Jan 2016

Researchers suggest microorganisms in the womb set stage for health problems later in life

Researchers review importance of microorganisms that exist in the gut, suggesting perturbation of the environment during pregnancy, delivery and early infancy could impact the developing baby's early microbiome and set the stage for health problems later in life. The term "microbiome" refers to the trillions of organisms we harbor, on our skin and within our respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

30 Dec 2015

Study on how immune systems of astronauts respond to seasonal flu vaccine

Every year, as influenza season - and flu shot season--rolls around, medical experts weigh in on just how effective it will be against that year's particular strain. What if that equation could take into account a person's own immune response?

24 Dec 2015

Working Group identifies many potential genetic contributors to weight loss

In the midst of the holiday season, celebratory get-togethers can mean overindulging on treats and high-calorie foods, leaving many of us struggling to keep off the extra pounds. With as many as two-thirds of American adults already carrying excess weight, and one third with obesity, maintaining weight can be the biggest challenge, say researchers.

24 Dec 2015

Certain gut bacteria linked to type 2 diabetes, reveal Russian scientists

A group of Russian scientists, including Dr Elena Kostryukova, the Head of the Laboratory of Postgenomic Research in Biology of the Scientific Research Institute of Physical-Chemical Medicine and a researcher at MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology), and Maria Vakhitova, an MIPT postgraduate student, has discovered that the presence of certain bacteria in the gut may be linked to the development of type 2 diabetes.

21 Dec 2015

Human-gut-on-a-chip model offers hope for patients suffering from IBD

It's estimated that as many as 1,000,000 Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which cause mild to severe symptoms that at best can be managed and at worst can lead to life-threatening complications.

16 Dec 2015

Stanford researchers develop novel technique for mapping diversity of gut bacteria

A collaboration between computer scientists and geneticists at Stanford University has produced a novel technique for mapping the diversity of bacteria living in the human gut.

15 Dec 2015