Pregnancy & early life

News Watch

Ask your grandparents. It is likely that when they were children, they probably had never heard about anyone being allergic to milk or to peanuts. And having asthma was almost incidental. And what about now? One can bet for sure you know people with asthma or atopic dermatitis. Allergic diseases are more and more on the rise and indeed they…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Ask your grandparents. It is likely that when they were children, they probably had never heard about anyone being allergic to milk or to peanuts. And having asthma was almost incidental. And what about now? One can bet for sure you know people with asthma or atopic dermatitis. Allergic diseases are more and more on the rise and indeed they…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

An increasing number of studies over at least the past decade have shown, without a doubt, that our gut microbiota influences health and disease. More recently, researchers have started to focus on early life, analyzing the role that gut microbiota plays in the development of metabolic and autoimmune disorders later in life. One recent study in this regard showed infant…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

An increasing number of studies over at least the past decade have shown, without a doubt, that our gut microbiota influences health and disease. More recently, researchers have started to focus on early life, analyzing the role that gut microbiota plays in the development of metabolic and autoimmune disorders later in life. One recent study in this regard showed infant…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Regular use of probiotics in infants and children can significantly reduce the need for an antibiotic treatment during childhood, according to a new review of studies published in the European Journal of Public Health. These findings, authors say, may contribute in the future to mitigate the rise of antibiotic resistance, a global health threaten. The review looked over 17 previously…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Regular use of probiotics in infants and children can significantly reduce the need for an antibiotic treatment during childhood, according to a new review of studies published in the European Journal of Public Health. These findings, authors say, may contribute in the future to mitigate the rise of antibiotic resistance, a global health threaten. The review looked over 17 previously…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

With 2019 just around the corner, we have taken a moment to look back over the year gone by and consider how much great progress was made in gut microbiota research in 2018. With more than 50 articles published on our platform over the past 12 months discussing these achievements and outcomes, it now gives the GMFH publishing team great…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

With 2019 just around the corner, we have taken a moment to look back over the year gone by and consider how much great progress was made in gut microbiota research in 2018. With more than 50 articles published on our platform over the past 12 months discussing these achievements and outcomes, it now gives the GMFH publishing team great…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Although we already knew bacterial exposure of the baby’s digestive tract starts during birth, but how the infant´s gut microbiota foundations are laid, how they change over time, and how the transition from infancy to childhood is organized is not yet fully understood. Now, a new paper published in Nature shed light on these questions. It provides insights into the…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Although we already knew bacterial exposure of the baby’s digestive tract starts during birth, but how the infant´s gut microbiota foundations are laid, how they change over time, and how the transition from infancy to childhood is organized is not yet fully understood. Now, a new paper published in Nature shed light on these questions. It provides insights into the…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Research & Practice

Mental health-related conditions such as anxiety and depression have been found to be more frequent in adults with functional gastrointestinal disorders that include irritable bowel syndrome. Although these findings suggest a close relationship between mental illness and functional gastrointestinal symptoms, little is known about the extent to which these manifestations may share a common etiology, especially in early life, when…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Mental health-related conditions such as anxiety and depression have been found to be more frequent in adults with functional gastrointestinal disorders that include irritable bowel syndrome. Although these findings suggest a close relationship between mental illness and functional gastrointestinal symptoms, little is known about the extent to which these manifestations may share a common etiology, especially in early life, when…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

During pregnancy, the maternal gut microbiota experiences shifts that have been suggested to contribute to maternal metabolic and immune adaptations beneficial in pregnancy. Although these changes can be disrupted by maternal diet-induced obesity, little is known about the mechanisms behind the impact of diet-induced changes in the maternal gut microbiota on inflammatory and metabolic responses during pregnancy and their effect…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

During pregnancy, the maternal gut microbiota experiences shifts that have been suggested to contribute to maternal metabolic and immune adaptations beneficial in pregnancy. Although these changes can be disrupted by maternal diet-induced obesity, little is known about the mechanisms behind the impact of diet-induced changes in the maternal gut microbiota on inflammatory and metabolic responses during pregnancy and their effect…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

The human milk microbiota is an important source of commensal microorganisms for the infant gut. Although both maternal and infant microbiomes are shaped by a multitude of factors, including delivery mode, geographic location and the method of breastfeeding, the extent to which bacterial taxa in a mother’s breast milk correlates with an infant’s fecal microbiota across different geographic locations is unclear.…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

The human milk microbiota is an important source of commensal microorganisms for the infant gut. Although both maternal and infant microbiomes are shaped by a multitude of factors, including delivery mode, geographic location and the method of breastfeeding, the extent to which bacterial taxa in a mother’s breast milk correlates with an infant’s fecal microbiota across different geographic locations is unclear.…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Previous research has widely studied the impact of early-life factors—related to both infant and mother—on milk microbiota diversity and composition. However, until now, scientists have focused mainly on the milk’s bacterial fraction without exploring the contribution of other commensal microorganisms such as colonizing fungi (the mycobiome). A new study, led by Dr. Maria Carmen Collado from the Institute of Agrochemistry…

Andreu Prados
Andreu Prados holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy & Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Science writer specialised in gut microbiota and probiotics, working also as lecturer and consultant in nutrition and healthcare. Follow Andreu on Twitter @andreuprados

Previous research has widely studied the impact of early-life factors—related to both infant and mother—on milk microbiota diversity and composition. However, until now, scientists have focused mainly on the milk’s bacterial fraction without exploring the contribution of other commensal microorganisms such as colonizing fungi (the mycobiome). A new study, led by Dr. Maria Carmen Collado from the Institute of Agrochemistry…

Andreu Prados
Andreu Prados holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy & Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Science writer specialised in gut microbiota and probiotics, working also as lecturer and consultant in nutrition and healthcare. Follow Andreu on Twitter @andreuprados

Just like other body parts and fluids in contact with the external environment, breast milk has its own microbiome that plays a key role in infant health by helping to establish a baby's gut microbiota. Over the past decade, new genomic techniques have increased our understanding of the human milk microbiome and the factors influencing its composition and activity. However,…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Just like other body parts and fluids in contact with the external environment, breast milk has its own microbiome that plays a key role in infant health by helping to establish a baby's gut microbiota. Over the past decade, new genomic techniques have increased our understanding of the human milk microbiome and the factors influencing its composition and activity. However,…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team