The bacteria that make up our gut microbiota lead a very active social life: they communicate and collaborate with each other, but also compete and keep each other in check. To a great extent, our health depends on this communication between them and with our cells. Hence, understanding how they relate to each other will be key to advancing toward the personalized medicine of the future.
Gut Microbiota News Watch is a section dedicated to expanding knowledge about gut microbiota’s importance for health and quality of life among the media and society in general. Using clear and easy-to-understand language, our aim is to keep our readers up-to-date on the latest facts and news about gut microbiota.
Gut fungi have effects beyond the gut through the gut-brain axis
14 Feb 2024by Rene van den Wijngaard, Andreu Prados
Most research on the role of gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis has focused on bacteria, while fungi living inside the gut have been overlooked. What do we know about the role of gut fungi in the communication between the gut and the brain?
Gut microbiota’s impact: linking neonatal jaundice and IBD through bilirubin processing
7 Feb 2024by Manon Oliero
The low amount of bacteria from the gut microbiota able to process bilirubin, a product of heme degradation, during the neonatal period of life suggests a strong connection between the microbiome composition and development of jaundice in infants. In other words, the lack of certain bacteria in the gut of infants seems to be linked to the risk of developing jaundice.
“In the future, we could treat microbiota to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer development”
11 Jan 2024by Cristina Sáez
In this interview, Dr. Núria Malats from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) shares promising advances regarding the relationship between gut microbiota and pancreatic cancer, unveiling exciting possibilities for early detection and personalized treatment.
Diets for irritable bowel syndrome: what you need to know
20 Dec 2023by Andreu Prados, Kate Scarlata
Food is considered the main trigger of digestive symptoms in the vast majority of patients living with IBS. While finding foods that do not prompt gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms has been a challenge for many people with IBS, restrictive diets can come with potential risks. Learn more about diets with evidence in IBS.
Scientists found an intriguing link between anorexia nervosa and the gut microbiota
27 Nov 2023by Mónica Quinzo
Anorexia nervosa is a common eating disorder in adolescent women, which has no successful treatment. New findings in humans and mice have found new links between an altered gut microbiota, appetite, and regulation of body weight in anorexia nervosa.
What lies beneath a dirty diaper? (Spoiler: thousands of unknown allied viruses!)
15 Nov 2023by Cristina Sáez
An international team of scientists has studied diaper samples of nearly 650 healthy 1-year-old babies for 5 years and has discovered 10,000 species of viruses, most of them unknown until now. Far from causing children to be sick, those viruses are thought to be true allies, playing an important role in protecting us from chronic diseases.
While SIBO is not new, it has recently gained popularity on the internet and on social media as the result of a set of non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and even chronic fatigue. In this post, we will discuss what SIBO is and what it is not, its roots, symptoms, diagnosis, and management.
The human microbiome has captured the interest of both scientists and the lay public. A survey of 6,500 people worldwide shows a lack of understanding of the role of the microbiome on health and an essential role of healthcare professionals in promoting advice to balance the microbiome.
The microorganisms that live in and on our body have been implicated in a variety of health functions and diseases. Two microbiologists comment on certain common assumptions about the human microbiota, including that it weighs 2 kg and is altered in case of obesity.