The gastrointestinal microbiome as a biological process encompasses the dynamic interactions, succession, and functional activities of microbial communities residing along the digestive tract and their continuous crosstalk with the host. It involves microbial colonization, competition, and cooperation; fermentation of dietary substrates; synthesis and biotransformation of metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids and bile acid derivatives; modulation of epithelial barrier integrity; and regulation of local and systemic immune responses. This process is characterized by context-dependent compositional shifts (e.g., in response to diet, xenobiotics, and inflammation) that influence host metabolism, signaling pathways, and susceptibility to gastrointestinal and extraintestinal diseases.
Joint research has, for the first time, ascertained the composition of the intestinal microbiome of the indri, a critically endangered lemur only found in the north-east of Madagascar. The study is a collaboration between ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2025
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57
A smartphone-controlled ingestible capsule that can control and allow for two-way communication with gut bacteria in pigs is reported in Nature Microbiology. The findings could lay the foundation for new diagnostic and treatment ...
Biotechnology
Jul 29, 2025
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30
If an intestinal inhabitant such as the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) becomes resistant to many antibiotics, it can cause serious health problems if it enters the bloodstream. How can such potentially dangerous multi-resistant ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 3, 2025
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35
PFAS have been linked with a range of health issues including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, and a higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 1, 2025
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183
The totality of bacteria, viruses and fungi that exist in and on a multicellular organism forms its natural microbiome. The interactions between the body and these microorganisms significantly influence both, the functions ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 27, 2025
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173
Despite being genetically identical, bacteria can vary considerably in shape and size. Whether these variations affect bacterial function has remained an open question. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 17, 2025
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51
In the jungle of microbes living in your gut, there's one oddball that makes methane. This little-known methane-maker might play a role in how many calories you absorb from your food, according to a new study from Arizona ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 11, 2025
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152
Even if we can't see them, microorganisms are everywhere, inextricably linked to life on Earth at every level. They range from pathogenic bacteria and viruses that can make us sick to the microbes that live in the digestive ...
Ecology
Jun 11, 2025
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25
Nanoplastics can compromise intestinal integrity in mice by altering the interactions between the gut microbiome and the host, according to a paper in Nature Communications. The study explores the complex interactions of ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 10, 2025
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79
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a pill that releases microscopic robots, or microrobots, into the colon to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The experimental treatment, given orally, ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 26, 2024
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107
