Digestion News and Research

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Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be absorbed, for instance, into a blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism; a break-down of macro food molecules to smaller ones.

Microbes from cow’s rumen could be a sustainable means of plastic reduction

Researchers discovered that bacteria present in cow’s rumen could digest materials like plastic, which is especially tough to break down.

6 Jul 2021

New wiki promotes development of innovative saliva-based diagnostic tests and customized treatment

The NIDCR has funded the creation of the Human Salivary Proteome Wiki, the first public platform that organizes information on each of the proteins found in human saliva.

27 May 2021

Study identifies predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes

Researchers revealed a predicted causative role for certain cell types in type 1 diabetes by examining its genetic foundations.

From UC San Diego 20 May 2021

New enzyme-activated compostable plastic could diminish microplastics pollution

Despite our efforts to sort and recycle, less than 9% of plastic gets recycled in the U.S., and most ends up in landfill or the environment.

22 Apr 2021

Warped immune cell signaling during bile acid exposure may lead to Crohn’s disease

People with Crohn's disease are typically treated with powerful anti-inflammatory medications that act throughout their body, not just in their digestive tract, creating the potential for unintended, and often serious, side effects.

8 Apr 2021

Red seaweed supplement can reduce methane emissions without compromising meat quality

Livestock farming is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide because ruminants like sheep and cattle produce methane as a byproduct of digestion.

18 Mar 2021

Study shows causal relationship between neonatal antibody production and mother's microbiota

A healthy system of gut bacteria, or microbiota, is crucial to health: Gut bacteria not only aid with digestion, but also play an important role in the body's immune response. Infants, however, are not born with full-fledged gut microbiota, which makes it difficult for them to fight off intestinal infections.

4 Mar 2021

New gel electrophoresis method allows rapid diagnosis of biomarkers by mass spectrometry

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is a technique that allows high-resolution isolation of proteins separated from biological specimens.

22 Feb 2021

Understanding the herbivory-sensing mechanism of plants through elicitors

Plants are known to possess solid immune response mechanisms. One such response is “sensing” attack by herbivorous animals.

From Tokyo University of Science 18 Feb 2021

Study identifies new mode of male endocrine disruption due to environmental arsenic exposure

Arsenic exists ubiquitously in an organic or inorganic state in the environment. General populations are commonly exposed to arsenic by digestion.

21 Jan 2021

Fecal microbiome differs in healthy and food-allergic twins

A new study out of the University of Chicago and Stanford University on pairs of twins with and without food allergies has identified potential microbial players in this condition. The results were published on Jan. 19 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

20 Jan 2021

Study reveals richness of space-time gene expression dynamics of the liver

Nothing in biology is static. Biological processes fluctuate over time, and if we are to put together an accurate picture of cells, tissues, organs etc., we have to take into account their temporal patterns. In fact, this effort has given rise to an entire field of study known as "chronobiology".

12 Jan 2021

Researchers investigate microbiome-mediated therapies for aging and health span

Texas Biomedical Research Institute Associate Professor Corinna Ross, PhD, is a principal investigator on a $3.38 million National Institutes of Health multi-investigator grant to study "microbiome-mediated therapies for aging and healthspan" in marmosets, which are small monkeys native to South America and are becoming increasingly more important in aging and infectious disease research.

18 Dec 2020

Study: Eating avocado as part of daily diet can help improve gut health

Eating avocado as part of your daily diet can help improve gut health, a new study from University of Illinois shows. Avocados are a healthy food that is high in dietary fiber and monounsaturated fat. However, it was not clear how avocados impact the microbes in the gastrointestinal system or "gut."

16 Dec 2020

Study: Sous vide cooking increases the digestibility of beef protein

Once used to prepare cuisine in only the finest restaurants, sous vide is now making its way into home chefs' kitchens. French for "under vacuum," the technique involves vacuum sealing food in a plastic pouch and then slowly cooking it in warm water.

10 Dec 2020

Researchers design living plant-based sensor to track arsenic levels

For the first time, researchers from SMART have engineered a living plant-based sensor for the detection of arsenic in the belowground environment

3 Dec 2020

UTA professor collaborates with NCTCOG to produce energy from food waste found in landfills

A University of Texas at Arlington environmental engineering professor is helping the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) determine how much more energy can be generated by diverting food waste from landfills to anaerobic food digesters.

17 Nov 2020

Toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones have pharmacological potential, shows research

Researchers based in Brazil and the United States have completed the first-ever mapping exercise to profile the toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones, or cerianthids, a family of marine animals belonging to the same phylum (Cnidaria) as sea anemones, jellyfish and corals.

30 Oct 2020

New strategy for capturing interactions among glycans and protein activators in live cells

Human cells are encased by a membrane coated with diverse sugar molecules known as glycans. These glycans play many roles in health and disease, making them important to understand.

20 Oct 2020

Findings show new promise for using stem cells to treat enteric nervous system disorders

Scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding how the enteric nervous system forms, which could pave the way for new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

28 Aug 2020