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New CU-Boulder-led study finds ‘microbial clock’ may help determine time of death

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2013Scienceaaron linne, active decay, bacterial change, biochemical change, body farm, boulder, chaminade university, crime scene investigation, david carter, determine, elife, eukaryotic expert, forensic scientist, forensic tool, grave soil, human decomposition facility, human microbiome, jessica metcalf, laura parfrey, max planck society, microbial clock, noah fierer, postmortem, rob knight, sibyl bucheli, time of death, university of colorado, wellcome trust fund

An intriguing study led by the University of Colorado Boulder may provide a powerful new tool in the quiver of forensic scientists attempting to determine the time of death in cases involving human corpses: a microbial clock.

The clock is essentially the lock-step succession of bacterial changes that occur postmortem as bodies move through the decay process. And while the researchers used mice for the new study, previous studies on the human microbiome – the estimated 100 trillion or so microbes that live on and in each of us – indicate there is good reason to believe similar microbial clocks are ticking away on human corpses, said Jessica Metcalf, a CU-Boulder postdoctoral researcher and first author on the study. (more…)

Ecological forces structure your body’s personal mix of microbes

By Guest PostAugust 5, 2013Health, Sciencebacteria, body, chronic digestive inflammation, computer model, ecological forces, elhanan borenstein, energy metabolism, environmental conditions, fungi, genetics studies, habitat filtering, human microbiome, infection, injury, microbes, nutrient, roie levy, species interaction, toxins, university of washington

Environmental conditions have a much stronger influence on the mix of microbes living in various parts of your body than does competition between species. Instead of excluding each other, microbes that fiercely compete for similar resources are more likely to cohabit in the same individual.

This phenomenon was discovered in a recent study of the human microbiome – the vast collection of our resident bacteria, fungi, and other tiny organisms. (more…)

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

By Guest PostJanuary 13, 2012Scienceabundance of enzymes, alfred p sloan foundation, biomarkers, body weight, building blocks of proteins, cohesive system, disease resistance, elhanan borenstein, energy, gene set, gut, habitats, human anatomy, human body, human genes, human gut, human host, human microbiome, immunity and nutrition, in silico modeling, inflammatory bowel disease, integrated biological system, microbes, microorganism, modeled network, modularity, multiple microbial species, organism, periphery, peter j turnbaugh, sharon greenblum, species, supra organism, university of washington, vitamins

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…)

Tag Archives: human microbiome

New CU-Boulder-led study finds ‘microbial clock’ may help determine time of death

Ecological forces structure your body’s personal mix of microbes

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