Microbiome News and Research

Latest Microbiome News and Research

U.S. Department of Defense funds Rush University Medical Center for gastrointestinal microorganism research

The human body contains billions of microorganisms, and microbial cells found in the human gut are estimated to outnumber human cells by ten-to-one in healthy adults. However, little is known about the ways in which these minute life forms influence health and disease.

28 Oct 2009

LANL and international researchers propose new genome sequence strategies

A team of geneticists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, together with a consortium of international researchers, has recently proposed a set of standards designed to elucidate the quality of publicly available genetic sequencing information.

22 Oct 2009

First health study of teenage boys using cellular telephones

A $4.15 million, four-year National Institutes of Health grant will enable researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine to conduct the first health study of teenage boys using cellular telephones.

16 Jun 2009

Genomic research lays groundwork for new approaches for treating, preventing skin diseases

The health of our skin - one of the body's first lines of defense against illness and injury - depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes that live on its surface.

28 May 2009

Autoantibodies may be created in response to bacterial DNA

Autoimmune diseases have long been regarded as illnesses in which the immune system creates autoantibodies to attack the body itself. But today, researchers at the California non-profit Autoimmunity Research Foundation (ARF) explain that the antibodies observed in autoimmune disease actually result from alteration of human genes and gene products by hidden bacteria.

27 Apr 2009

DNA of uncultured organisms sequenced using novel single cell genome sequencing approach

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have assembled high quality, contamination-free draft genomes of uncultured biodegrading microorganisms using a novel single cell genome sequencing approach.

22 Apr 2009

Deficiency in vitamin D may exacerbate autoimmune disease

Deficiency in vitamin D has been widely regarded as contributing to autoimmune disease, but a review appearing in Autoimmunity Reviews explains that low levels of vitamin D in patients with autoimmune disease may be a result rather than a cause of disease and that supplementing with vitamin D may actually exacerbate autoimmune disease.

9 Apr 2009

Microbes within gut may hold key to one cause of obesity

In terms of diversity and sheer numbers, the microbes occupying the human gut easily dwarf the billions of people inhabiting the Earth.

19 Jan 2009

Research initiative looks at helpful bacteria found on the skin

The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health.

5 Jan 2009

DNA of good bacteria drives intestinal response to infection

A new study shows that the DNA of so-called "good bacteria" that normally live in the intestines may help defend the body against infection.

2 Oct 2008

Bacterial communities inside us can provide better understanding of health and disease

The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to 1. Changes in these microbial communities may be responsible for digestive disorders, skin diseases, gum disease and even obesity.

3 Jun 2008

First comprehensive database of microorganisms known to live in the mouth

Scientists know more today than ever before about the microbes that inhabit our mouths.

26 Mar 2008

First analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes

Researchers have completed the first analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes, an accomplishment that has far-reaching implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of many human diseases.

7 Jun 2006

Humans are a cocktail of bacteria and human cells

Gene experts after studying the DNA of hundreds of different kinds of bacteria in the human gut have reached the conclusion that the human race may not be quite as human as we may think.

4 Jun 2006

Significant step forward in the genome era

In what promises to be a significant step forward in the genome era, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) today announced plans to devote a portion of its large-scale sequencing capacity to efforts aimed at identifying the genetic roots of specific diseases that have long eluded gene hunters.

17 Oct 2005

Bacteria Live in the Esophagus!

The esophagus isn't merely a tube for food traveling from the mouth to the stomach, it also provides an environment for bacteria to live, according to a new study by NYU School of Medicine scientists that overturns the general belief that the esophagus is free of bacteria.

22 Mar 2004