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Regulatory T cells produced in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles

The human immune system is incredibly versatile. Among its most skilled multitaskers are T cells, known for their role in everything from fighting infection to reining in inflammation to killing nascent tumors.

3 Mar 2023

Disinfecting water with peptide-coated silver sulfide quantum dots

Water contaminated with bacteria poses a serious threat to global health. In the scientific publication Angewandte Chemie, a Chinese research team developed a simple new technique for disinfection.

1 Mar 2023

New model, C. elegans, helps pursue research on Parkinson's disease

A tiny worm called the C. elegans is enabling scientists to explore the emerging theory that Parkinson's disease starts in the gut.

1 Mar 2023

Elaborating how amino acids shaped the genetic code of ancient microbes

Researchers discovered that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have identified how to evolve into anything alive on the planet today, including plants, animals, and humans, by mimicking early Earth conditions in the lab.

28 Feb 2023

SXSW 2023 to focus on the critical role microbes in human health

Rebecca Bart, PhD, member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and her colleagues from Washington University in St. Louis will be featured on a global stage at South by Southwest on March 11 at 2:30 PM at the JW Marriott, Austin Texas.

28 Feb 2023

Study reveals why the FMO5 gene produces an enzyme with a different activity

Our body produces lots of enzymes that break down toxic substances. One class of such enzymes are the flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs), which are present in all tetrapods. Humans have five different FMO genes, of which the first four display the same activity. However, the fifth FMO gene triggers a different breakdown reaction. University of Groningen biochemists have succeeded in resurrecting the ancestral genes of all tetrapod FMOs to show how this divergence has occurred. Their results appear on 24 February in Nature Communications.

28 Feb 2023

Prototype treatment shows great potential in neutralizing snake toxins from multiple species

Prototype treatment for snake bite envenoming proves effective against the venom of African and Asian elapid snakes, such as some cobra, mamba, and krait species, new research shows.

24 Feb 2023

Using ultrasound waves to move genetically engineered cells

Let's say you needed to move an individual cell from one place to another. How would you do it? Maybe some special tweezers? A really tiny shovel?

24 Feb 2023

New model describes the enormous range of DNA in nature

Why neutral sequences, frequently referred to as “junk DNA,” are not removed from the genomes of living things in nature and persist there even millions of years later is a scientific mystery that could have a possible answer according to a new model created at Tel Aviv University.

23 Feb 2023

Limiting antibiotic use in livestock associated with reduction in antibiotic-resistant infection

A California policy restricting antibiotic use in animals raised for food is associated with a reduction in one type of antibiotic-resistant infection in people in the state, according to a new study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

23 Feb 2023

Modifying patients' intestinal flora could be a new therapeutic approach for colon cancer

Studies show that certain bacteria may contribute to the development of colorectal cancer by producing toxins that may damage colon cells or cause an accumulation of DNA mutations and/or intestinal inflammation.

23 Feb 2023

Adults struggling with chronic constipation benefit from a vibrating capsule

A vibrating capsule designed to stir the colon to action appears to double the ability for adults struggling with debilitating chronic constipation to defecate more normally and without drugs, researchers report.

22 Feb 2023

New technique uses amino acids to cure meat and poultry products

Imagine your favorite cured meat like beef jerky, pepperoni or bacon without any added sodium nitrite from any source currently necessary for color and shelf life. Wes Osburn, Ph.D., is doing exactly that.

22 Feb 2023

Removing antibiotics from wastewater with biochar

Farmers must cultivate a large number of crops to feed the world’s expanding population. Water is necessary for crops to grow and thrive, and 70% of the freshwater consumed globally is utilized to irrigate crops.

21 Feb 2023

Probiotic application shown to promote health and growth of piglets

This study is led by Prof. Heping Zhang (Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University).

20 Feb 2023

Role of probiotics and functional materials in the treatment of intestinal inflammation

Maintenance of sulfomucin is a key end point in the treatment of diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the mechanism underlying the microbial sense to sulfomucin are poorly understood, and to date, there are no therapies targeting the secretion and maturation of sulfomucin in IBD. Considering the important role of gut microbiota in host immune regulation, maintain sulfomucin by modulating the gut microbiota is inspired.

20 Feb 2023

Identifying antimicrobials that effectively treat AMR infections

In a potential game changer for the treatment of superbugs, a new class of antibiotics was developed that cured mice infected with bacteria deemed nearly "untreatable" in humans -; and resistance to the drug was virtually undetectable.

19 Feb 2023

Substituting meat for mycoprotein reduces intestinal genotoxins, increases healthy gut bacteria

Researchers from Northumbria University have found that swapping red and processed meat for Quorn's mycoprotein, a fungi-based meat alternative, leads to a significant reduction in intestinal genotoxins - which can cause bowel cancer - and increases healthy gut bacteria.

17 Feb 2023

Effect of prune supplementation on the gut microbiome of postmenopausal women

New research published in the journal Food & Function indicates that daily prune consumption may improve the gut fecal microbiome of postmenopausal women. The fecal microbiome – the ecosystem of microorganisms found in one's fecal matter – reflects an individual's overall gut health. Results from the study showed notable enrichment in bacteria from the family Lachnospiraceae. This group of bacteria has been associated with an ability to decrease inflammatory markers in the body and help maintain the integrity of the gut barrier.

16 Feb 2023

New center at UCLA focuses on the microbiome’s role in disease prevention

Among the most promising areas of scientific inquiry is the study of the human microbiome and its effect on health. To fuel more rapid progress in this field, Andrea and Donald Goodman and Renee and Meyer Luskin have made a $20 million gift to establish the UCLA Goodman–Luskin Microbiome Center.

16 Feb 2023