Microbiome News and Research

Latest Microbiome News and Research

Researchers unravel species-function relationships in gut microbial genomes

Despite recent progress, the organization and ecological properties of the intestinal microbial ecosystem remain under investigated. Using a manually curated metabolic module framework for (meta-)genomic data analysis, Sara Vieira-Silva, Gwen Falony and colleagues from the Jeroen Raes lab studied species-function relationships in gut microbial genomes and microbiomes.

14 Jun 2016

Tackling healthcare challenges in a changing world: an interview with Professor Jeremy Nicholson

As individuals and as populations our risks of getting diseases are determined partly genetically and partly from the environment that we live in. An important part of that environment that mediates between the outside world and the inside world of our bodies is the microbiome.

10 Jun 2016

Eating walnuts may offer protection against colon tumors

Eating walnuts may change gut bacteria in a way that suppresses colon cancer, researchers led by UConn Health report in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

3 Jun 2016

New study sheds light on link between gut microbiome and the brain

Intestinal bacteria that can boost bravery or trigger multiple sclerosis: An increasing body of research results confirms the importance of the "gut-brain axis" for neurology and indicates that the triggers for a number of neurological diseases may be located in the digestive tract.

30 May 2016

PNNL scientists play central role in National Microbiome Initiative

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are playing a central role as the nation devotes more than $500 million to understand communities of microorganisms and their role in climate science, food production and human health.

28 May 2016

NASA releases new video that highlights Mark and Scott Kelly's metabolites

NASA's Human Research Program is releasing "Metabolomics: You Are What You Eat" video to highlight its Twins Study which uses omics to study Mark and Scott Kelly's metabolites.

28 May 2016

Antimicrobial agent triclosan can rapidly disrupt gut bacterial communities

A new study suggests that triclosan, an antimicrobial and antifungal agent found in many consumer products ranging from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities found in the gut.

24 May 2016

Could a new test improve bowel cancer screening uptake? An interview with Professor Halloran

The most recent complete data for England (2014/15) shows an average uptake of the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Tests (gFOBT) from those invited by the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) of 58.22%.

23 May 2016

New collaborative research center to investigate promising aspects of mucosal immunology

Immunology - and the idea that many diseases can best be addressed by boosting the body's own immune response - is one of the hottest areas in medical research and clinical treatment.

22 May 2016

Specific monocyte immune cells serve as link between gut bacteria and the brain

A special kind of immune cell serves as an intermediary between gut bacteria and the brain. Dr. Susanne Wolf of the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association discovered this in tests on mice and published her findings in the journal Cell Reports.

20 May 2016

Insilico Medicine collaborates with National Laboratory Astana to study age-related pathologies

Insilico Medicine announced an agreement with National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, one of the most rapidly growing universities in the world to collaboratively study aging and age-associated pathologies.

19 May 2016

Could worm infection counter IBD? An interview with Dr Loke and Dr Cadwell

The hygiene hypothesis refers to the idea that decreased exposure to certain infectious agents (because of better hygiene) is the reason why we have seen an increase in inflammatory diseases in the developed world.

17 May 2016

Pathogen-selective approach to antibiotic development less disruptive to gut microbiome

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists report the first evidence that a pathogen-specific antibiotic was less disruptive to the gut microbiome than broad-spectrum antibiotics.

10 May 2016

NYUCD awarded $1.6M grant to explore biological and physiological effects of e-cig use on oral health

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded NYU College of Dentistry Professors Deepak Saxena, MS, PhD, and Xin Li, PhD, a four-year $1.6M NIDCR grant to study the biological and physiological effects of electronic cigarette aerosol mixtures on oral health.

10 May 2016

Caltech researchers discover new potential cause for Crohn's disease

The community of beneficial bacteria that live in our intestines, known as the gut microbiome, are important for the development and function of the immune system. There has been growing evidence that certain probiotics--therapies that introduce beneficial bacteria into the gut--may help alleviate some of the symptoms of intestinal disorders such as Crohn's disease.

10 May 2016

Researchers develop computer model to reveal how antibiotic-resistant microbes develop and spread

Researchers from the Scientific Research Institute of Physical-Chemical Medicine, MIPT, the company M&S Decisions and the research department of Yandex have built a computer model of the interaction between different bacteria, and between bacteria and the gut wall.

5 May 2016

Human milk hormones may play vital role in shaping healthy infant microbiome

A new University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus study finds that hormones in breast milk may impact the development of healthy bacteria in infants' guts, potentially protecting them from intestinal inflammation, obesity and other diseases later in life.

5 May 2016

Candida yeast infections more common in men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

In a study prompted in part by suggestions from people with mental illness, Johns Hopkins researchers found that a history of Candida yeast infections was more common in a group of men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder than in those without these disorders, and that women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who tested positive for Candida performed worse on a standard memory test than women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who had no evidence of past infection.

4 May 2016

Early exposure to pathogens may play pivotal role in immune system development

Exposure to pathogens early in life is beneficial to the education and development of the human immune system.

30 Apr 2016

Probiotic supplements may help treat post-menopausal osteoporosis

Probiotic supplements protected female mice from the loss of bone density that occurs after having their ovaries removed, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia State University have shown.

28 Apr 2016