microbiome

A groundbreaking study by UC San Diego researchers has uncovered thousands of new bile acids, shedding light on their critical roles beyond digestion and highlighting their potential in treating various diseases. This discovery marks a significant step forward in our understanding of the gut microbiome’s communication with the body and human metabolism.Scientists at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, part of the University of California San Diego, have discovered thousands of new bile acids. These…

Researchers have discovered that changes in gut microbiome, specifically a reduction in Clostridia bacteria due to antibiotics and a high-fat diet, can lead to sorbitol intolerance. This intolerance manifests as digestive upset from consuming sorbitol, a common sugar alcohol in various foods and products. They found that regulating gut oxygen levels with certain bacteria or drugs like mesalazine could restore the ability to digest sorbitol, suggesting a new treatment approach for sorbitol intolerance.Gut microbes missing…

For over a century, people have dreamed of the day when humanity (as a species) would venture into space.In recent decades, that dream has moved much closer to realization, thanks to the rise of the commercial space industry (NewSpace), renewed interest in space exploration, and long-term plans to establish habitats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), on the lunar surface, and Mars.Based on the progression, it is clear that going to space exploration will not be reserved for astronauts and government space agencies for much…

Improving the health of the gut microbiome by way of fecal transplant (in mice) and dietary modification (in humans), has been shown by researchers to noticeably improve COPD symptoms. The finding could lead to microbiome-targeted treatments that provide relief to people suffering from this currently incurable condition.Most often caused by long-term cigarette smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by inflammation and emphysema, leading to progressive impairment of lung function. Globally,…

February 14, 20244min readRecent research found a species of bacteria living in semen that’s associated with infertility and has links to the vaginal microbiomeBy Andrew ChapmanHuman sperm cells fertilizing egg ovum. Semen was once assumed to be naturally microbe-free; any bacteria found in the fluid was assumed to be a sign of infection. But research over the past decade has shown that semen has its own microbial community, just like microbiomes of the gut and vagina. And now scientists have completed one of the biggest…

Research from Georgia State University shows that gut bacteria, particularly segmented filamentous bacteria, play a crucial role in protecting mice against respiratory viruses by influencing immune cells in the lungs. This study could have profound implications for understanding and managing respiratory infections in humans.Researchers at the Center for Translational Antiviral Research within the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have discovered that the makeup of gut microbiota affects mice’s…

The unique gut microbiome found within a tiny plastics-munching worm could potentially be harnessed to successfully break down problematic materials on a large scale.Zophobas atratus worms – more accurately, the larvae of the darkling beetle – are popular insect snacks in many countries where they are often bred and sold for pet reptile food. But while they're known as superworms for their protein-rich nutritional value, their true superpower may be found in the makeup of their gut bacteria. In this new study, Nanyang…

An MIT biotech researcher has been able to run the iconic computer game Doom using actual gut bacteria. Lauren Ramlan didn’t get the game going on a digital simulation of bacteria, but turned actual bacteria into pixels to display the 30-year-old FPS, as reported by Rock Paper Shotgun.Specifically, Ramlan created a display inside of a cell wall made entirely of E. coli bacteria. The 32x48 1-bit display may not win any resolution awards, but who cares, right? It’s Doom running on bacteria. The researcher dosed the bacteria…

Our mouths and guts are teeming with mysterious somethings that are unknown to science, new research suggests. A team says they’ve discovered distinct virus-like structures hanging out among the bacteria that live in our bodies. The researchers have coined these structures “obelisks,” and they might further redefine what it means to be a living thing.Alex Winter on the Most Important Modern Horror Movie Viruses are small packages of genetic material made of either DNA or RNA enclosed inside a protective protein shell.…

We may have an adequate understanding of the human body in that, well, we invented aspirin and sequenced the genome, but researchers still find out new things about the humble homo sapien all of the time. Case in point? Scientists hanging out in the human gut and mouth. The researchers are calling these virus-like structures “obelisks”, due to their presumed microscopic shape.These entities replicate like viruses, but are much smaller and simpler. Due to the minuscule size, they fall into the “viroid” class, which are…