THE BIOME BUZZ
BUGS AND WORMS AND OTHER GREAT STUFF
Category: Human Biome
The “Hygiene Hypothesis” – A Phrase Whose Time Has Passed
Dr. William Parker of Duke University Medical School, an eminent researcher into the effects of helminths on the immune system among other specialties, wrote a commentary in 2014 in the British Medical Journal entitled, The “hygiene hypothesis” for allergic disease is a misnomer.[i] His…
Blastocystis: Harmless or Harmful? The Short Answer is…It Depends!
Here’s a topic I haven’t written about much: single-cell eukaryotes. A eukaryote is a living organism whose cells contain a nucleus (in which genetic material is contained) within a membrane. Thus, in the world of living things, only bacteria and archaea (which is sort…
More on Autism and the Microbiome…and a Clinical Study Using Probiotics
My Monday afternoon was devoted to reading two articles about the microbiome and autism. The first was a chapter from a book on biological markers found in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disease.[i] I’ve chosen what I thought were the top 10 points from this article…
Even Mild Stress May Cause Adverse Changes to Your Microbiome
This was a banner week, in terms of incredibly interesting bits of research popping up everywhere. It was hard to figure out what to write about for today! I have ended up choosing a study out of Duke University looking at the effects of…
Food Allergy, the Microbiome and Epigenetics
Last week I wrote about how nitric oxide, a communication molecule naturally produced by our bodies, is also produced by the bacteria of our gut. The molecule attaches to thousands of proteins in our bodies and can turn genes on and off, greatly affecting…
Fructose, Viruses, and the Microbiota
Among the bacteria that live in our digestive tracts are ones termed “lysogenic,” which means that they actually contain dormant virus DNA. When exposed to certain metabolic conditions, this DNA is activated and produced viruses: “Approximately half of intestinal viruses are derived from lysogens,…
How Do the Microbiota Communicate with Their Host? Scientists Have Cracked the First Mechanism!
I don’t know if you remember but back in December, I wrote about research into how phages (viruses that kill bacteria) can understand the language of bacteria, allowing them to spy on their fellow gut inhabitants, thereby optimizing their own existence. Discoveries into inter-species…
More On Anorexia and the Bacterial Microbiome: Searching for the Optimal Diet Solution
I haven’t seen any new research on the biome and eating disorders recently (I first wrote about this topic in November of 2017, but have seen precious little since), so was very pleased to spot an article[i] yesterday on Gut Microbiota for Health which…
A Trio of New Helminth Papers
Three articles were recently published on helminths that are worth sharing with you. Two studied the immune effects (in rodents) of the species, Hymenolepis diminuta. (This species is native to rodents and one currently used in helminthic therapy.) The third summarized research into using…
Your Blood Type and Your Microbiome
Thanks to Natasha, one of my regular readers, I was introduced this week to a whole new (for me) biome topic. (Thank you again for that, Natasha!) Absolutely fascinating stuff. Like me, I’m sure most of you know that the best known way of…
