Many scientists have pointed out possible errors of analysis and interpretation in a high-profile study that suggested microbes can ease autism-like behaviors in mice. The backlash was swift, appearing on Twitter and the post-publication review site PubPeer within hours of the paper’s publication. In the paper, published 30 May in Cell, Sarkis Mazmanian and his colleagues reported that fecal transplants [...]
ABSTRACT Network-based modelling of infectious diseases apply compartmental models on a contact network, which makes the epidemic process crucially dependent on the network structure. For highly contagious diseases such as Ebola virus disease (EVD), the inter-personal contact plays the most vital role in the human to human transmission. Read more… Download The post Risk [...]
Elite athletes really are different from you and me. Or, at least their gut microbes are. Scientists who analyzed stool samples of 15 runners a week before and after they competed in the 2015 Boston Marathon found unusually high levels of one particular microbe compared to 10 non-athletes. Levels of the microbe in question, Veillonella, [...]
Michelle Colder Carras is scientist and gamer who loves World of Warcraft and Dance Dance Revolution and understands firsthand the potential benefits of gaming—the communication skills needed to overcome an obstacle, the intense group strategizing, and the satisfaction when completing a goal. A two-time Johns Hopkins alumna and former postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins [...]
In 2005, Rachel Straub was a college student returning home from a three-week medical service mission in Central America. Soon after, she suffered a brutal case of the flu. Or so she thought. “We were staying in orphanages,” she says of her trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. “There were bugs everywhere. I remember going [...]
Hospital Water Taps Contaminated with Bacteria Additional research needed to uncover how water contamination threatens patient safety CHICAGO (January 20, 2014) – New research finds significantly higher levels of infectious pathogens in water from faucet taps with aerators compared to water from deeper in the plumbing system. Contaminated water poses an increased risk for infection in [...]
Abstract Recent studies have realized the link between gut microbiota and human health and diseases. The question of diet, environment or gene is the determining factor for dominant microbiota and microbiota profile has not been fully resolved, for these comparative studies have been performed on populations of different ethnicities and in short-term intervention studies. Here, [...]
Abstract The incidence of preterm birth exceeds 10% worldwide. There are significant disparities in the frequency of preterm birth among populations within countries, and women of African ancestry disproportionately bear the burden of risk in the United States. CC0 Creative Commons Pixabay Read more… The post The vaginal microbiome and preterm birth appeared [...]
Two fascinating new studies are shedding light on the association between the gut, the brain, and autism. The new research reveals how gastrointestinal problems can be triggered by the same gene mutations associated with autism, and a striking mouse study has demonstrated how a fecal transplant from humans with autism can promote autism-like behaviors in [...]
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have identified African swine fever virus (ASFV) proteins that can trigger an immune response in pigs. The team hopes to develop a vaccine using these proteins that is capable of protecting against the deadly disease. Published in Frontiers in Immunology, the study shows that when some pigs were challenged with a virulent strain [...]
