Tag Archives: gut

Variety in Diet Can Hamper Microbial Diversity in the Gut

AUSTIN, Texas — Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have discovered that the more diverse the diet of a fish, the less diverse are the microbes living in its gut. If the effect is confirmed in humans, it could mean that the combinations of foods people eat can influence the diversity of their gut microbes. (more…)

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Building Healthy Bones Takes Guts

In what could be an early step toward new treatments for people with osteoporosis, scientists at Michigan State University report that a natural probiotic supplement can help male mice produce healthier bones.

Interestingly, the same can’t be said for female mice, the researchers report in the Journal of Cellular Physiology.

“We know that inflammation in the gut can cause bone loss, though it’s unclear exactly why,” said lead author Laura McCabe, a professor in MSU’s departments of Physiology and Radiology. “The neat thing we found is that a probiotic can enhance bone density.” (more…)

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Researchers Show Prebiotic Can Reduce Severity of Colitis

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Researchers at Michigan State University have shown a prebiotic may help the body’s own natural killer cells fight bacterial infection and reduce inflammation, greatly decreasing the risk of colon cancer.

Prebiotics are fiber supplements that serve as food for the trillions of tiny bacteria living in the gut. When taken, they can stimulate the growth of the “good” bacteria. The evolution of prebiotic supplements (as well as probiotics, which are actual bacteria ingested into the system) provide new therapeutic targets for researchers and physicians. (more…)

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Gut Microbe Networks Differ From Norm in Obese People, Systems Biology Approach Reveals

For the first time, researchers have analyzed the multitude of microorganisms residing in the human gut as a complex, integrated biological system, rather than a set of separate species. Their approach has revealed patterns that correspond with excess body weight.

The senior author of the paper, Elhanan Borenstein, assistant professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington, said, “Our research introduces a novel framework, applying systems biology and in-silico (computer) modeling to study the human microbiome – the complex ensemble of microorganisms that populate the human body – as a single cohesive system.” (more…)

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People Don’t Just Think with Their Guts; Logic Plays a Role Too

For decades, science has suggested that when people make decisions, they tend to ignore logic and go with the gut. But Wim De Neys, a psychological scientist at the University of Toulouse in France, has a new suggestion: Maybe thinking about logic is also intuitive. He writes about this idea in the January issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Psychologists have partly based their conclusions about reasoning and decision-making on questions like this one:

“Bill is 34. He is intelligent, punctual but unimaginative and somewhat lifeless. In school, he was strong in mathematics but weak in social studies and humanities. (more…)

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