By Lynne A Barker, Sheffield Hallam University and Caroline Jordan, Sheffield Hallam University Within our body and on our skin, trillions of bacteria and viruses exist as part of complex ecosystems called microbiomes. Microbiomes play an important role in human health and disease – and…
We are born into an environment full of small organisms called microbiota. Within the first minutes and hours of our lives, they start challenging but also educating our immune system. The largest immune organ is our gut, where maturation of the immune system and maturation…
By Matt Agorist As more states and countries attempt to send children back to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen some utterly horrifying scenarios. Masked up and shielded children of all ages are being forced to stay behind plastic sheets, dividers, and some…
Specific fungi in the gut associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and found in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be altered in a beneficial manner by eating a modified Mediterranean diet, researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have found. The…
Bacteria and other microorganisms in the digestive tract are linked with dozens of health conditions including high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and body mass index (BMI) according to research presented today at ESC Congress 2020.1 “Our study indicates that microbiota might have an important…
You’re faced with a big decision so your second brain provides what’s normally referred to as ‘gut instinct’, but how did this sensation reach you before it was too late? The Enteric Nervous System (ENS) is an extensive network of neurons and transmitters wrapped in…
A common food additive, recently banned in France but allowed in the U.S. and many other countries, was found to significantly alter gut microbiota in mice, causing inflammation in the colon and changes in protein expression in the liver, according to research led by a…
Study suggests potential anti-inflammatory properties of ketone bodies via effects on gut microbial ecosystems Low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diets, which have attracted public interest in recent years for their proposed benefits in lowering inflammation and promoting weight loss and heart health, have a dramatic impact on…
Research findings suggest gut microbes can effect allergic immune responses. Tasuku Ogita who has recently joined Shinshu University is an expert on teas and their effects on gut bacteria. In this study, his team looked at green tea and the abundance of Flavonifractor plautii (FP)…
By Tim Spector, King’s College London These are unprecedented times. COVID-19 (the illness caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2) has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Many countries have sealed their borders and put the population under voluntary or enforced lockdown….
The importance of the microorganisms that live on and in our bodies has long been recognized, and their complex synergistic impact on our systemic health is elucidated. Now, researchers from Japan have shown the importance of normal eating for the composition and balance of our…
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An industrial chemical — phased out since 2002, but previously used in stain and water-repellent products and firefighting foam — alters the gut microbiome of mice and could have implications for human health, according to an international team of researchers. Perfluorooctane…
Researchers at San Diego State University have found a new way to harness food as medicine, which has far reaching implications to control harmful microbes in our gut while balancing microbial diversity by fostering the growth of beneficial bacteria. Foods we eat commonly affect our…
By Alanna Ketler The Facts: Many commonly prescribed medications have been found to have a drastic affect on the “good bacteria” in our gut. Reflect On: It is important to be aware of all potential side effects before taking a new drug to decide whether…
Disrupting the daily routine of gut microbes in mice impacts their metabolism, increasing the risk for metabolic dysfunction, according to a new study. The results may inform a link between microbiota damage and human obesity, for example, in our modern environment, the authors say. “Our…
Dogs with a Crohn’s-like disease fed a special diet were found to have characteristic changes in their gut microbiomes, paralleling changes seen in children with Crohn’s. Much remains mysterious about the factors influencing human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but one aspect that has emerged as…
The microorganisms living in the intestines could help with muscle growth and function, opening new doors to interventions for age-related skeletal muscle loss, an international research team led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has found. Through a series of strength and movement-related exercises…
As Rodolfo Martinez-Mota well knows, from the cactus spines in his clothes and skin, white-throated woodrats love to eat prickly pear cactus (from the Opuntia genus). They like the cactus so much that their gut microorganism community, or microbiome, is specially equipped to break down…
Getting up close – and a little dirty – with farm animals just might help us fend off illness, say researchers who’ve further demonstrated the benefits of early exposure to a wide variety of environmental bacteria. Scientists from The Ohio State University found that bacteria…
