microbiology

microbiology

microbiology

Reaction: mice still show allergies when exposed to various microbes, which challenges the hygiene hypothesis

A new study in mice, published in Science Immunology, challenges the so-called 'hygiene hypothesis', the idea that a contributing factor to allergies is that there is an under-stimulated immune system that has not seen enough exposure to germs from current hygienic conditions. In the research, laboratory mice still developed allergies when exposed to various microbes.

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Reactions: Myths and exaggerations about the microbiome harm your research, an article warns

An opinion piece signed by researchers from the Universities of Aberdeen and Nottingham (UK) has outlined some of the inaccuracies, exaggerations and misconceptions they say are taking place around research on the human microbiome. Some of these are curiosities, like the false belief that we have ten bacteria for every human cell. Others are more relevant, such as the fact that many specific associations between the microbiome and disease have not been confirmed in follow-up studies. According to the authors, it is important to raise awareness about myths and misconceptions to avoid unproductive research projects and preserve public confidence in microbiome science. The article is published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

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Reactions: New fossils from eukaryotes found in millions-of-years-old rocks

An international team has discovered a new type of molecular fossil in sedimentary rocks from the mid-Proterozoic - which spans from 2.5 billion to 542 million years ago. Protosteroids, a type of lipids found in abundance in those rocks, indicate that eukaryotes were a dominant life form in aquatic environments between 1.6 billion and 800 million years ago, the authors explain in Nature. The finding would confirm the theory of Nobel laureate Konrad Bloch, who predicted the existence of these primordial molecules. 

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Reaction: Bacteria colonise Mediterranean microfibres, including a species that causes food poisoning

A study published in PLOS ONE reveals that more than 2,600 bacteria live on average on each floating microfibre in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to 195 bacterial species. This waste from plastic pollution, textiles and fishing activities, once colonised, smells like food and is consumed by marine animals. Among them, pathogenic Vibrio species have been found, a bacterium that can be a threat to bathing and seafood consumption.

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Reactions: one in eight deaths in 2019 were linked to bacterial infections

Bacterial infections were the second leading cause of death in 2019. This is according to research published in The Lancet, which estimates that one in eight deaths that year was associated with bacterial pathogens. Five of these - S. aureus, E. coli, S. pneumoniae, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa - accounted for more than half of all bacteria-related deaths.

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Reaction to the proposal of widespread banking of stool samples for fecal transplants later in life

The rise in cases of asthma, allergies and digestive tract diseases, among others, could be linked to changes in the microbiome. US researchers are propose to combat this trend by having us all save samples of our own gut microbiota when we are young and healthy, for later use in an autologous faecal microbiota transplant.

 

Reaction to the closure of a farm in Toledo due to the suspected first autochthonous case of cholera in Spain since 1979

Castilla-La Mancha has sealed a farm in Toledo after a minor was hospitalised (and later discharged) after drinking water from a tap. Analyses by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III have confirmed that it is not cholera. Although the bacteria consumed is the same, in this case it did not contain the toxins that cause the disease.

Reaction to research revealing that infant microbiome development varies according to lifestyle

A metagenomic comparison of the infant gut microbiome of industrialised and non-industrialised populations reveals robust differences that researchers say are lifestyle-dependent. The research involved samples from infants of Hadza, a group of modern hunter-gatherers living in Tanzania, and is published in the journal Science.