Novel enzyme discovered in intestinal bacteria

The human intestinal system contains a complex community of microorganisms, the intestinal microbiome, which metabolizes food components that have not readily been digested. However, there are also microbial degradation processes ...

Intestines modify their cellular structure in response to diet

Body organs such as the intestine and ovaries undergo structural changes in response to dietary nutrients that can have lasting impacts on metabolism, as well as cancer susceptibility, according to Carnegie's Rebecca Obniski, ...

'Smart' bacteria remodel their genes to infect our intestines

Infectious diarrhea, a common disease of children, is responsible for over 2 million infant deaths annually in developing counties alone. A primary cause of this and other devastating conditions is enteropathogenic bacteria, ...

Amoeba study puts bite on dysentery

An amoeba parasite that causes potentially fatal dysentery in poor countries wreaks its havoc by eating intestinal cells alive, scientists reported on Wednesday.

Fruit fly midguts provide human abdomen acumen

(Phys.org) —Nicolas Buchon, associate professor of entomology, is giving the fruit fly research community a lot to digest: a detailed molecular and anatomical atlas of the fruit fly digestive tract. The results, published ...

Studying fish to learn about fat

In mammals, most lipids (such as fatty acids and cholesterol) are absorbed into the body via the small intestine. The complexity of the cells and fluids that inhabit this organ make it very difficult to study in a laboratory ...

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