Jennifer T. Smilowitz and Diana Hazard Taft | Jun 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
The gut microbiome is more malleable in the first two years after birth, allowing probiotics to make their mark. Can we exploit this to improve infants’ health?
Elevated levels of a neurotoxin in northeastern Brazil’s drinking water and a high incidence of microcephaly in the region led scientists to look for a link, and they found one.
The BioCollective, a company that transforms whole stool samples into microbial metadata, is developing the US’s first national microbiome reference material.
Wing development in females is environmentally controlled, but in males, an insertion on the sex chromosome appears to dictate whether the insects grow wings, according to a study.
By revealing that animals could develop immune responses against their own tissues, the physician-scientist established an entirely new field of science.
Evolution needn’t make improbable leaps to facilitate transitions into uncharted biological territory. Adapting new uses for existing structures works just fine.
Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases picked up new protein domains that participate in vasculature formation around the same time that organisms evolved key adaptations in the circulatory system.
The microbial makeup of a newborn baby’s intestines has changed dramatically over the past 100 years, and we are now beginning to understand how and why this matters.
