Microbiome

A new analytical tool suggests distinct microbiome changes caused by spaceflight are most likely caused by microgravity.

A new study led by University of Queensland researchers is suggesting fecal transplants may help koalas in Australia adapt to new habitats.

New research demonstrates how a high-fat diet can disrupt levels of an intestinal immune cell known to help regulate microbial populations in the gut. The study shows how low-levels of this molecule result in increased growth of harmful gut bacteria, leading to inflammation and insulin resistance.

A team of US scientists is embarking on an immense project to catalog all the genes in the collective human microbiome. In the first published study an astounding 46 million genes have been chronicled from just 3,500 human microbiome samples. Half of those genes are unique to single human samples.

A remarkable new study revealed thousands of previously undiscovered small proteins produced by bacteria in the human microbiome. Almost all of these proteins serve unknown functions in the human body and the researchers suggest the discovery opens up a new frontier for future drug development.

A new study is suggesting vibration therapy can beneficially alter the gut microbiome, and reduce diabetes-related inflammation. The research at this point has only been verified in mice, and prior human vibration therapy studies suggest these results may not broadly translate to human treatments.

Antibiotics aren’t picky, blasting good and bad bacteria alike and messing up the delicate balance of the gut microbiome. But now researchers have developed a more targeted approach, with drugs that are able to zero in on specific species of bacteria.

A new study has described how an impaired immune system can alter the composition of the gut microbiome resulting in metabolic disease and obesity. Demonstrated in mouse experiments the research suggests certain species of gut bacteria can prevent the gut from absorbing fat.

​The abundance or lack of certain types of gut bacteria has been linked to everything from depression to heart disease to childhood asthma. Non-invasively determining which microbes make up a person's "gut microbiome," however, can be difficult – which is why a new 3D-printed capsule was developed.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is thought to be caused by a relatively equal balance of genetic and environmental factors. A new study has discovered a molecule secreted by certain gut bacteria could protect against the disease while other species of gut bacteria can exacerbate the onset of symptoms.

A compelling new study has described a novel association between viral infections, neurodegenerative disease, the gut microbiome, and our immune system. The research suggests gut bacteria disruptions can allow harmful viruses to trigger neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

New research suggests malnutrition in children can be better treated by therapeutic foods designed to boost and repair the gut microbiome. A clinical trial targeting malnourished children in Bangladesh revealed a newly developed therapeutic food is superior to conventional supplements.