Tracing tomatoes’ health benefits to gut microbes: Favorable findings in pigs warrant human studies, researchers say
Two weeks of eating a diet heavy in tomatoes increased the diversity of gut microbes and altered gut bacteria toward a more favorable profile in young pigs, researchers found. After observing these results with a short-term intervention, the research team plans to progress to similar studies in people, looking for health-related links between tomatoes in […]
Increased heart disease risk from red meat may stem from gut microbe response to digestion
Chemicals produced in the digestive tract by gut microbes after eating red meat may help explain part of the higher risk of cardiovascular disease associated with red meat consumption, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s peer-reviewed journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB). In the United States and around the […]
Spaceflight: Microgravity analog culture profoundly affects microbial infection process in 3-D human tissue models
Infectious microbes have evolved sophisticated means to invade host cells, outwit the body’s defenses and cause disease. While researchers have tried to puzzle out the complicated interactions between microorganisms and the host cells they infect, one facet of the disease process has often been overlooked — the physical forces that impact host-pathogen interactions and disease […]
Microbes help orchestrate how the gut uses its genes: Mice without microbes rely on an entirely different set of genes to digest fat
The microbes that help break down food actually tell the gut how to do its job better, according to a new study in mice at Duke. The researchers said it appears that the microbes are able to influence which of the gut’s genes are being called into action, and in turn, that interaction might lead […]
New method for probing the bewildering diversity of the microbiome
In recent years, researchers have begun to explore the vast assemblage of microbes on and within the human body. These include protists, archaea, fungi, viruses and vast numbers of bacteria living in symbiotic ecosystems. Known collectively as the human microbiome, these tiny entities influence an astonishing range of activities, from metabolism to behavior and play […]
Persistence pays off in the human gut microbiome
The human gut microbiome is a complex community of trillions of microbes that are constantly interacting with each other and our bodies. It supports our wellbeing, immune system and mental health — but how is it sustained? Researchers in the UK and Germany, alongside other international collaborators, have investigated the evolution of bacteria in the […]
Using microbes to make carbon-neutral fuel
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a new way to train microbes to make a readily usable biofuel. A team of biologists and engineers modified a microbe called Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 (TIE-1) so that it can produce a biofuel using only three renewable and naturally abundant source ingredients: carbon dioxide, solar panel-generated […]
How microbes can exacerbate cognitive decline
Recent research has found that changes in the gut microbiota — the trillions of bacteria and other microbes that live in the intestines — can alter the brain and behavior. Now, a study led by scientists at UCLA could elucidate how and why that phenomenon occurs. In the experiment, which was conducted with mice, researchers […]
A fermented-food diet increases microbiome diversity and lowers inflammation, study finds
A diet rich in fermented foods enhances the diversity of gut microbes and decreases molecular signs of inflammation, according to researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine. In a clinical trial, 36 healthy adults were randomly assigned to a 10-week diet that included either fermented or high-fiber foods. The two diets resulted in different effects […]