Microbiomes – Multimedia

Our skin is home to billions of microorganisms, the vast majority of which are bacteria. Much like the microbiome in our gut, these microbes play a crucial part in keeping us healthy. Researchers are working out whether restoring the balance can treat some medical conditions.

In this episode, the team discuss the omnipresent technology of next-generation sequencing (NGS), which has seen the cost of sequencing a human genome go from $100 million to under $1000 in just two decades. We hear from the European Bioinformatics Institute’s Dr Alex Almeida, who uses NGS techniques to examine the human microbiome. We also investigate the future of NGS and ask, what will happen when we have sequenced absolutely everything?

In the field of microbiology, COVID-19 has very much stolen the show this year. However, despite media attention and resources being poured into understanding and combatting SARS-CoV-2, there have still been some exciting developments in microbiology. In this list we take a look at five of the most read non-COVID-19 microbiology news stories of 2020.

The human digestive tract is home to > 1,000 different species of microorganisms. Purification of microbial DNA from a sample is a key step in understanding the microbiome composition and its influences on human health. Download this app note to discover a detection workflow that can be performed in as little as 2 hours.

Promoting a healthy gut microbiome may be a powerful strategy for lowering cholesterol and other heart attack risk factors. In this video, Reza Ghadiri presents research on molecules that can alter the bacterial population of intestines to a healthier state and how they have shown – through experiments in mice – that this reduces cholesterol levels and strongly inhibits the thickened-artery condition known as atherosclerosis.

In this installment of Teach Me in 10, Dr Wintermute provides a Synthetic Biology 101, teaching you everything that you need to know about this interesting area of science, in less than 10 minutes.

In cancer, rapidly emerging evidence suggests that the microbiome influences disease progression in a myriad of direct and indirect ways. In this listicle, we look at recent research developments directed towards exploring the emerging “oncomicrobiome”.

In this episode, the Technology Networks team discusses the community of bacteria that have made our bodies their home: the microbiome.

2019 has been an important year for neuroscience research. In this list, we look at 10 of the most important stories in neuroscience from the last year, touching on brain implants, adult neurogenesis and promising therapies for neurological conditions. Here's to another huge new year (and decade) in 2020!

2019 has been an exciting year for the drug discovery field. This list details the top 10 most-read news stories, published on Technology Networks.