Microbiome

The varied community of microorganisms that live in different parts of the body, particularly the gut, is referred to as the human microbiome. These microorganisms are mostly bacteria, but they can also be viruses, fungi, and archaea. These microbial communities are vital for immune regulation, nutrition synthesis, digestion, and pathogen defense. Metagenomics research has shown that homeostasis depends on a healthy, diverse microbiome, whereas dysbiosis, or imbalances in the microbiome, is linked to a variety of illnesses, such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, and neuropsychiatric disorders. The field of microbiome research is growing quickly, providing new information on diet-microbe interactions, probiotic treatments, and personalized medicine.

The Gut–Brain–Skin Axis: How Diet and Gut Health Influence Mood, Skin, and Aging

How microbial metabolites from everyday foods connect the gut, brain, and skin to influence inflammation, emotional health, and the biology of aging.

Fecal Microbiota Transplant Technique

Microbiome-Host Cell Interactions

Achievements of the Human Microbiome Project

Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) and the Microbiome

What Role do Microbiomes Play in Urinary Tract Infections?

Conjunctiva microbiota

The Microbiome of a Newborn

Alzheimer's Disease and the Microbiome

The Effect of Intermittent Fasting on the Gut Microbiome

Human Microbiome Project (HMP)

Fecal Microbiota Transplant Regulation

See more featured articles »

Antibiotics and the Microbiome

Drug Metabolism and Microbiome

Gut Bacteria and Autism Development

Fecal Microbiota Transplant

Microbiome and Cancer

Genetic Factors that Influence Bacterial Diversity in the Human Gut

Is Coffee Good for the Gut?

How “Fad” Diets Affect the Gut Microbiota

Skin Microbiota

How Does the Diet Impact Microbiota?

How Artificial Sweeteners Disrupt the Gut Microbiome, Or Do They?

Ovarian Microbiome Overview: Fertility, PCOS, and the Gut–Ovary Axis

Effects of a Gluten-Free Diet on the Gut Microbiota

Oral Microbiota

Do Serotonin and Antidepressants Affect the Microbiome?

Can you Treat a Food Allergy by Altering the Gut Microbiome?

Parkinson's Disease and the Gut Microbiome

Fermented Foods and Gut Health

Human Microbiome

What is Vaginal Microbiome?

What is the Human Virome?

Scalp Microbiome Explained: What’s Living on Your Scalp and Why It Matters

Gut Microbiota

Risk Factors for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth

Insight into the Skin Microbiome

The Microbiome and Aging

Is There a Link Between Migraine and the Gut Microbiome?

Disease Susceptibility and the Microbiome

Does the Microbiome Interact with the Human Endocrine System?

Menopause and the Microbiome

What Role Does the Immune System and Microbiome Play in Health and Disease?

Vaginal Microbiome and Premature Birth

Is There a Brain Microbiome?

How Does Your Diet Affect your Gut Microbiome?

Microbiome and Disease

Latest Microbiome News and Research

Do repeated football head hits disrupt the gut microbiome?

A small exploratory study of collegiate football players found that non-concussive head impacts are correlationally linked to acute and season-long shifts in gut microbiome composition, with changes most pronounced 48–72 hours after significant impacts. However, most associations weakened after correction for multiple testing, and the authors stress the findings are preliminary and hypothesis-generating.

10 May 2026

Multi-center research initiative aims to improve glioblastoma patient outcomes

Investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center are part of a new multi-institution research effort aimed at improving care and outcomes for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancers.

8 May 2026

The role of gut bacteria in sustained diabetes improvement

Changes in gut microbiota after bariatric surgery are strongly linked to altered metabolic health and sustained improvement in type 2 diabetes, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg.

7 May 2026

Reverse ecology approach reveals hidden complexity in gut microbiome

The human gut harbors a complex ecosystem of trillions of microorganisms (the microbiome), which influences digestion, the immune system and metabolism.

7 May 2026

Ultra processed foods linked to higher cardiovascular disease and death

People who eat more ultra processed food (UPF) have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death, according to a report published in the European Heart Journal today (Thursday).

7 May 2026

Researchers identify new treatment vulnerabilities in pancreatic cancer progression

The review offers important insights for patients and families by explaining why pancreatic cancer has proven so resistant to treatment, and where new hope may emerge.

6 May 2026

Repeated head impacts linked to gut microbiome changes in athletes

Non-concussive head impacts-hits to the head that don't cause clinically detectable symptoms-are correlated with subsequent changes to the gut microbiome in a small sample of US collegiate football players, according to a new study published May 6, 2026, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Ahmet Ay and Kenneth Douglas Belanger of Colgate University, USA, and colleagues.

6 May 2026

Chronic sunlight exposure disrupts body clocks in skin

Years of chronic exposure of human skin to sunlight strongly disrupts its body‑clock rhythm, according to a pioneering study led by University of Manchester, No7 Beauty Company, a member of The Boots Group, and University of Pennsylvania scientists.

6 May 2026

Study links antimicrobial peptides to amyloid disease and neurodegeneration

For decades, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and amyloid-forming peptides were studied in largely separate contexts.

5 May 2026

How a common gut bacterium may protect health

Akkermansia muciniphila's impact on immunity and pregnancy outcomes underscores its promise as a probiotic, with implications for infectious disease treatment.

4 May 2026

New genetic tool tracks how bacteria spread between people

The research, published on April 24th, 2026, in Nature Microbiology, describes how the new tool, called TRAnsmision Clustering of Strains (TRACS), uses genomics to distinguish between closely related bacterial strains.

4 May 2026

AHA calls for lifelong brain health strategy to prevent cognitive decline

The AHA scientific statement calls for a life-course approach to brain health that integrates cognitive, emotional, behavioral, vascular, environmental, inflammatory, sleep, microbiome, and social factors. It highlights how early-life exposures, mental health, pollution, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, gut dysbiosis, and socioeconomic adversity may shape brain resilience and later-life cognitive decline.

29 Apr 2026

Lifestyle and non-lifestyle factors converge to influence gut microbiome in cancer patients

A new review was published in Volume 13 of Oncoscience on March 11, 2026, titled "Associations among physical activity, diet, non-lifestyle characteristics and the gut microbiome of cancer patients: A scoping review and network analysis."

28 Apr 2026

Rising bowel and ovarian cancer rates in younger adults raise new concerns

Cases of several cancers are rising in England among both younger and older adults, but rates of bowel and ovarian cancer are rising only among younger adults (under 50s), finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Oncology.

28 Apr 2026

New AI models quickly find compounds that target Lyme bacteria

Tufts University researchers are using AI and machine learning to more quickly identify potential narrow-spectrum antibiotics to prevent and treat Lyme disease, thanks to a generous gift from an alumnus that sped up their timeline by two to three years.

28 Apr 2026

Engineered gut bacteria successfully treat metabolic drivers of liver disease

When the liver fails, toxins - such as ammonia - that should be filtered from the blood build up and reach the brain.

28 Apr 2026

New scientific statement defines brain health across life

Brain health isn't determined only by genetics or what happens later in life. A growing body of research shows that a range of factors-from mental health and sleep to environment, lifestyle and social conditions-play a powerful role in shaping how the brain functions and ages.

28 Apr 2026