Gut Bacteria

New research has found a maternal fecal transplant may mitigate the damage antibiotics cause to the development of a newborn baby’s microbiome. The animal study found a fecal transplant greatly reduced future risk of developing the disease.

Investigating the relationship between diet, gut bacteria and systemic inflammation, Stanford University researchers found just a few weeks of following a diet rich in fermented foods can improve microbiome diversity and reduce inflammatory biomarkers.

It’s hard to overstate the incredible influence our gut microbiome has on our health. Now, researchers have found that certain metabolites from intestinal bacteria could boost the cancer-killing effect of immunotherapy.

A trial testing fecal transplants in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome found the treatment was only beneficial when accompanied by non-fermentable fiber supplements. The trial saw improvements in insulin sensitivity 6 weeks after a fecal transplant.

A new study has highlighted the gut-brain link between social behavior and gut microbes in mice, showing how a lack of certain gut bacteria can increase levels of a hormone that activates a part of the brain that contributes to antisocial activities.

Researchers have engineered standard baking yeast to treat inflammatory bowel disease. The microbe has been modified to secrete an anti-inflammatory molecule in response to signs of gut inflammation and has proven effective in mouse tests.

A study has cataloged thousands of distinct viral species living in the human gut. The majority are unknown to science and researchers suggest the novel interactions between bacteria and viruses in our microbiome could inform future disease treatments.

A new study investigating how a low-calorie diet alters gut microbial populations is reporting unexpected results, finding a strange relationship between extreme caloric restriction and increased levels of a bacteria linked to inflammatory bowel disease.

A striking new gut-brain link has been discovered by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic. The findings show how a metabolite produced by gut bacteria can amplify the severity of a stroke and impair a person’s recovery.

Bacteria are extremely good at evolving in response to drugs, which can render vaccines ineffective. But now, researchers at ETH Zurich have found a way to weaponize that ability against them, forcing the bugs down harmless evolutionary dead ends.

A new proof of concept study has demonstrated how certain types of protective gut bacteria can help negate the damaging side effects of toxic chemotherapy drugs, raising the prospect of future probiotics designed to enhance gut health in cancer patients.

Introducing the concept of “microbiome architectures”, a new study has detected robust associations between several human diseases, including diabetes and liver cirrhosis, and patterns of bacterial genes.