Microbiomes – News and Features
News
From Human Biopsy to Complex Gut Physiology on a Chip
Organ Chip technology using donor-derived human intestinal cells offers advantages over organoids and creates new opportunities for personalized medicine.
Article
The Germ and the Gene: Gut Bacteria Research Takes a Step Forward
This article reviews some new developments in our knowledge of how our gut microbiota interacts with our genome.
News
A Natural Alternative to Antibiotics Living in Your Bladder?
Phages—viruses that infect bacteria—are abundant in the bacteria that inhabit the female bladder. This is good news, because phage could be used as alternative treatment when pathogenic bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.
News
Scientists with Novel Approaches to Fighting Cancer Awarded $3M
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that ten scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2018 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.
News
Changes in Mother's Bacteria Linked to Preterm Births
Changes to the communities of microbes living in the reproductive tract of pregnant women could help to spot those at risk of giving birth prematurely. A study of hundreds of women found that subtle changes to the bacteria present in the vagina were strongly associated with the mother’s waters breaking early and preterm birth – the baby being born before 37 weeks.
News
Fiber-Rich Diet Fights Off Obesity by Altering Microbiota
Changes to the bacteria that live in our guts that occur when we eat a fiber rich diet can help beat obesity.
News
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Are Unexpected Source of Methane
An unexpected source of methane in the environment has been inadvertently discovered. Recent research reveals that the enzyme that allows microorganisms to fix nitrogen also enables them to convert nitrogen gas to ammonia and carbon dioxide into methane at the same time. The ammonia is the main product; the methane is only a sideline.
News
Immune Cells That Keep Gut Fungi Under Control Identified
Immune cells that process food and bacterial antigens in the intestines control the intestinal population of fungi, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.
News
Functionally Linking Microbial Community Structure with Environmental Chemistry
Biocrusts and other soil microbiomes contain a tremendous diversity of both microbes and small molecules (‘metabolites’). However, the connection between the chemical diversity of soil and microbial diversity was poorly understood. In a recent study reseachers have aimed to shed like on this area. Understanding how microbial communities in biocrusts adapt to their harsh environments could provide important clues to help shed light on the roles of soil microbes in the global carbon cycle.
News
Fiber Is Good for You. Now Scientists May Know Why
A diet of fiber-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, reduces the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Eating more fiber seems to lower people’s mortality rate, whatever the cause. Research indicates that fiber doesn’t deliver many of its benefits directly to our bodies.The fiber we eat feeds billions of bacteria in our guts. Keeping them happy means our intestines and immune systems remain in good working order.
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