Some microbes in the guts of humans and mice may help control the buildup of plaque in arteries, the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, by gobbling up a group of inflammatory chemicals before they can circulate in the body.
A study by Wisconsin Institute for Discovery researchers challenges long-held beliefs, with potential implications for physiological processes and diseases such as propionic acidemia, autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.
A growing understanding of microbial communities and their influence on human health or crop productivity has led to the dream of changing these communities to produce benefits. New research addresses this head-on.
An international team of researchers has shown in mice that a healthy gut microbiome is important for recovery after a heart attack.
A first step toward understanding how to manipulate the properties of the gut ecosystem could allow scientists to design a probiotic that persists in the gut, or tailor a diet to positively influence human health.
While research suggests that the complex link between nutrition, gut microbes, and host metabolism is vital for health, many questions remain about how to improve outcomes, either in mice or in humans.
The microorganisms that reside in the gut work in tandem with the genes of a host organism to regulate insulin secretion, a key variable in the onset of diabetes.
Recent studies have shown that the complement of microorganisms known as the microbiome is an important determinant of human health and disease.
The upshot of the study is another indictment of the so-called Western diet, high in saturated fats, sugar and red meat.
The federal government has launched the National Microbiome Initiative to “foster the integrated study of microbiomes across different ecosystems.”
For almost 60 years, the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) has closely followed the life course of roughly a third of Wisconsin high school graduates from the class of 1957.
Over the last decade or so, biologists have mustered an ever-growing appreciation for the essential role of microbial communities in a diversity of environments.