A high-salt diet suppressed the growth of tumors in a mouse model of melanoma, apparently because of an interplay between the gut microbiome and natural killer cells.

The health of the microbial community is associated with COVID-19 severity, but it’s not yet clear if the relationship is causal.

Depleting intestinal fungi allows radiation to effectively fight cancer, likely because the microbes influence the antitumor immune response.

Work in rodents shows that the bacteria living in a mother’s gut can produce immunomodulatory metabolites and influence the production of maternal antibodies—both of which can affect her offspring’s development.

Bacteria in the gut influence the production of antibodies and themselves secrete metabolites. In a pregnant woman, these compounds may influence immune development of her fetus.

Meet some of the people featured in the August 2021 issue of The Scientist.

The microbiota helps align a mouse’s innate immune system with its feeding patterns, prepping the animal to fend off infection when it’s most likely to be eating.

The temporary loss of olfaction stops the flies from eating any more of whatever it is that made them sick.

After controlling for high levels of bacterial contamination in their lab and reagents, researchers detect microbial genetic material in plasma samples from healthy people and cancer patients.

Bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals may influence the adaptive trajectories of their hosts.

Swabbing infants born by Cesarean-section with a gauze harboring their mother’s vaginal fluids made their skin and gut microbiota more closely resemble that of vaginally born babies.

Researchers identify live bacteria in fetal guts, skin, lungs, and placentas that activate memory T cells, indicating that early exposure to microbes could help educate the developing immune system.

With multiple microbiota therapeutics in the pipeline for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, clinicians foresee a shift in treatment options for the condition.