Childhood is a crucial period for building the gut microbiome, yet it remains one of its least studied phases. Le French Gut Kids aims to fill this gap by analyzing gut microbiota and lifestyle data from children and adolescents across France. The project seeks to better understand how early gut development may influence health throughout life.
Our shared microbiome: How microbes connect health, people, and the planet
2 Dec 2025by GMFH Editing Team
In this video interview, Dr. Mireia Vallès-Colomer explains how our microbiome is formed, shared, and transmitted throughout life — and why understanding these microbial connections is key for human and planetary health.
This Halloween, we’re celebrating some microbes that sound scary but play a vital role in keeping us healthy. Behind their ghostly names lie fascinating stories of cooperation, balance, and invisible teamwork inside our gut.
Scientists uncover common patterns in infant gut microbiome development on four continents
23 Jul 2025by Mónica Quinzo
The gut microbiome’s early development is essential for infant health, but does it follow the same path worldwide? A new study reveals that despite geographical and cultural differences, infants undergo similar microbial changes in their intestines. Understanding the universal patterns of early gut microbiome succession offers a promising avenue for improving infant health worldwide.
New clues into how gut microbes help regulate cholesterol and fat metabolism
5 Mar 2025by Mónica Quinzo
Gut microbiota plays a role in cholesterol metabolism by influencing bile acid production. Recent research has identified a microbial process that helps maintain metabolic balance and prevent fat accumulation. Understanding this interaction may provide insights into metabolic health and disease prevention.
People eating a mixed diet with animal foods share gut bacteria with vegans and vegetarians, a new study found
21 Jan 2025by Andreu Prados
The composition of the gut microbiome depends mainly on diet. A new study sheds light on the most beneficial diet for your gut – and it may have to do with the food quality and diversity you consume rather than whether you follow a vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore diet.
The microbial colonization of a baby's gut is primarily influenced by the mother's vaginal microbiota during birth and by breast milk. Two new studies have found for the first time that fathers also contribute to the establishment of the baby's microbiota, which could have health implications.
Two hospitals in Barcelona, the Clínic and Bellvitge, have launched Spain's first Fecal Microbiota Bank. Their goal is to obtain donations of stool from healthy individuals to perform microbiota transplants on patients suffering from potentially fatal infections of bacteria known as C. difficile infections. We step into the fecal microbiota transfer units of both hospitals to learn how they operate and meet some of the donors.
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.
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.
