Intestines

Research using fruit flies has revealed activin signaling as a key mechanism in gut plasticity, influencing its ability to shrink and expand in response to nutrient availability. This finding has implications for understanding organ adaptation and opens new pathways for exploring treatments for colorectal cancer linked to activin signaling disruptions.One of the most striking examples of gut plasticity can be observed in animals that are exposed to prolonged periods of fasting, such as hibernating animals or phyton snakes…

Doctors in Missouri were baffled to spot a fly inside a man's intestines during a routine colon screening.Images taken during the colonoscopy and published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology show the intact fly inside the man's colon.Matthew Bechtold, the chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Missouri, told The Independent that he had prodded the fly and confirmed it was dead.Fly found in a routine colonoscopy (N. Sharma et al., American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2023)The 63-year-old patient told…

MIT researchers that can monitor vital signs including heart rate and breathing patterns from within a patient’s GI tract. The scientists also say that the novel device has the potential to also be used to detect signs of respiratory depression during an opioid overdose. , an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT who has been working on developing a range of ingestible sensors, told Engadget that the device will be especially useful for sleep studies.Conventionally, sleep studies require patients to be…

Different kinds of sharks have intestines with different spiral patterns that favor fluid flow in one direction. Ido Levin and colleagues are recreating those shapes using a 3D printer in order to study the unique fluid flow inside the spirals. Credit: Image courtesy of Ido LevinShark intestines have a unique spiral shape that favors fluid flow in one direction. By learning about the workings of this phenomenon, physicists hope to apply the principles to robotics and other applications.Inventor Nikola Tesla patented a…

Salk Institute researchers have developed a new compound that acts like a master reset switch in the intestines. In a new study, the compound, called FexD, is found to prevent and reverse intestinal inflammation in mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease.New therapeutic has the potential to treat inflammatory bowel disease by targeting a molecule that keeps order in the intestines.Salk Institute scientists have developed a new drug that acts like a master reset switch in the gut. Called FexD, the compound has…