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Gut microbes may be key to treating and protecting against COVID-19

May

26

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According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) May 2021 report, biotechnology companies are researching gut microbes for answers to treat and protect against COVID-19.

Trillions of microbes inhabit the body and perform essential functions such as breaking down nutrients and resisting infectious diseases. Research also indicates this microbial population, the microbiome, all 274 stool samples analyzed showed that the make-up of the gut microbiome differed significantly between patients with and without COVID-19.

According to the WSJ report, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Eubacterium rectale were prevalent among healthy patients while unhealthy had high Ruminococcus gnavus, Ruminococcus torques and Bacteroides dorei in their stools.

https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/make-up-of-gut-microbiome-may-influence-covid-19-severity-and-immune-response/

Little known lymphocytes found to help maximize our digestion of nutrients

May

22

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A single layer of epithelial cells covering our inner intestinal lining supports absorption of nutrients from food while maintaining a barrier against potentially infectious pathogen.

Scientists found that gamma-delta T cells maximize nutrient absorption by adjusting the quantity of epithelial cells, according to Zuri Sullivan, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. She studied mice eating eating a heavy carb load which as expected showed a higher expression of genes involved in carbohydrate processing and absorption.

Unexpectedly, she found similar changes in the epithelial cells caused by gamma-delta T cells, a type of gut lymphocytes, a progressive increase in these cells depending on the diet. This also points to the fact that these immune cells do more than protect us from pathogens.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/mysterious-immune-cells-change-the-gut-lining-to-accommodate-diet-68641/amp

Gut microbiome changes with neurodegenerative conditions

May

13

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According to a May 07 2021 Neuroscience News article, people with neurodegenerative conditions show bacterial changes in their gut. The research is led by University of Florida microbiology and cell science doctoral candidate Alyssa Walker (UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences). Walker's research was able to render visual evidence that a tiny, translucent worm called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. Elegans) residing in our gut accumulates protein known to cause neurodegenerative diseases (1).

They have also shown that certain other bacteria species can produce compounds that counteract the effect. The study identified specific species of bacteria play a role in the development of these conditions," said Dr. Daniel Czyz, assistant professor at the University of Florida working with Walker in Science Focus (2).

1. https://neurosciencenews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/neurosciencenews.com/gut-bacteria-neurodegeneration-18363/amp/?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16203965777154&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2F

2. https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/scientists-identify-gut-bacteria-linked-to-neurodegenerative-conditions/amp/

microbes from the deep

May

7

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A team of researchers led by Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration assistant professor and geobiologist Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has been studying microbial life in the North Pond located on the western flank of the mid-Atlantic Ridge, at a depth of over 14,500 feet. Trembath-Reicher and her team were able to track the types of food sources microbes consume to survive. She also found that microbes use carbon dioxide directly as a building block without having to convert it into a food source, according to the Phys.Org report. A remarkable discovery demonstrated how microbes are able to survive and adapt to to some of the harshest living conditions (1).

In another study, scientists found that microbes have been growing and coming out of the ocean floor through petroleum seeps. The microbes they studied are able subsist and adapt to the harsh conditions of the deep ocean floor.

This study confirms that petroleum seeps are a conduit for transporting life from the deep biosphere to the seafloor,” says co-author Emil Ruff, a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole as reported in SciTech Daily. The study, led by Anirban Chakraborty and Casey Hubert of the University of Calgary, is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2).

Bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic organisms regulate the Earth’s vital functions and resources, from the air we breathe to all our food and most of our energy sources. An estimated one-third of the Earth’s microbes reside beneath the ocean floor, according to the Phys.Org May 26 2021 article (1).

https://phys.org/news/2021-04-deep-ocean-microbes-poised.amp

https://scitechdaily.com/deep-biosphere-microbes-life-is-bubbling-up-from-sediments-deep-below-the-ocean-floor/amp/

So little known about the "majority of life on Earth, microbial life. Why?

May

1

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Life on the planet relies on an enormous quantity of bacteria, fungi and other tiny organisms, according to an April 19 2021 article in the Guardian. They generate oxygen, keep the earth healthy and are healthy probiotics for our bodies such as yoghurt and cheese.

According to Prof Frederick Cohan, a microbial ecologist at Wesleyan University, new microbial species are constantly coming into being, regardless of the declining number of animal species worldwide which are often linked to the spread of unhealthy microbes, says the Guardian.

Perhaps one day soon we will realise and rectify our neglect and lift our respect for the diversity of microbial life,” said Jesse Ausubel, director of the Rockefeller University’s programme for the human environment, and sponsor of the study. Ausubel calls for the forming of a non-profit similar to WWF or Nature Conservancy to help track microbes worldwide.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/19/microbes-are-unknown-unknowns-despite-being-vital-to-all-life-says-study

animal products, processed foods, alcohol and sugar may lead to inflammation

Apr

29

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Another study points to the connections between our gut health and what we eat.

An April 15 2021 Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News reported that high dietary intake of animal products, processed foods, alcohol and sugar could lead to inflammation in our gut, according to a study by the University of Groningen and University Medical Centre Groningen. This diet showed to support the abundance of inflammatory Firmicutes and Ruminococcus sp in our gut.

A diet rich in plant-based foods was found to promote the opposite affect. For example, nuts, oily fish, fruit, vegetables was linked to a higher abundance of healthy bacteria such as Faecalibacterium sp.

University of Groningen's Laura A. Bolte, PhD, and colleagues, studied 1425 individuals many of whom suffered from some type of gut related disease and compared their diets to a control group of 871 gut healthy individuals.

https://www.genengnews.com/news/diet-rich-in-animal-products-processed-foods-alcohol-and-sugar-linked-with-inflammatory-gut-microbiome/amp/

The "rotten egg smell" can be good. . . or bad for you

Apr

14

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The SciTech Daily reported on April 12 2021 new metabolic capabilities of gut bacteria, according to a study by University of Vienna and Professor David Schleheck from the University of Konstanz. For the first time, the researchers found that our gut microbes digest plant-based, sulfur-containing sugar sulfoquinovose, which exist in many green vegetables such as spinach and algae. They found that low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in the gut can have anti-inflammatory effects, while excessive amounts may be connected to diseases such as cancer.

An earlier study by microbiologist David Schleheck at the University of Konstanz discovered that other microorganisms can use the sulfosugar as a nutrient. Now, they have confirmed that the gut microbiome in humans contribute to how nutrition affects our health.

The new study found that "sulfoquinovose stimulates the growth of very specific key organisms in the gut microbiome,” says David Schleheck quoted in SciTech Daily, including Eubacterium rectale which is associated with healthy people. On the other hand, high concentrations were associated with chronic inflammatory diseases.

https://scitechdaily.com/popeye-with-a-whiff-of-rotten-eggs-new-metabolic-capabilities-of-gut-bacteria-discovered/amp/

Environment such as diet plays key role in one's microbiome

Apr

8

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Quoted in the Harvard Gazette March 23 2021, “Evidence in humans and many animals to this point suggests that, surprisingly, genetics plays a small role compared to environmental influences,” according to Rachel Carmody, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and principal investigator of the department’s Nutritional and Microbial Ecology Lab.

Her team studied a number of different animals that were domesticated and given "foods originally cultivated for human use, in processed forms that are relatively easily digestible," Carmody is quoted as saying in the Harvard Gazette article. The result is they found that the microbiomes of these different species, from dogs to pigs to rabbits, became commonly similar. Carmody’s lab previously studied how the gut biome squad of both mice and humans changed, and changed quickly, simply through diet changes. The end result suggests that genetics plays a limited role in gut microbiome make up.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/03/new-study-shows-that-diet-has-major-impact-on-gut-biomes/

Your ability to resist pathogens largely depends on your gut microbiome

Apr

1

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Recent studies have shown that gut microbiota can build resistance to gut colonization by disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens). Conversely, prolonged and/or high levels of antibiotic use in people promotes expansion of Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes severe diarrhoea and inflammation of the colon.

Scientists again have found that when one becomes infected with a pathogen changes occur in the microbial community that enhances one's ability to combat the harmful bacteria. The strength of one's resistance varies from person to person, according to Apollo Stacey of the National Institute of Health laboratory of Host Immunity.

It has been known that antibiotic use in people promotes expansion of Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes severe diarrhoea and inflammation of the colon, leading to a high risk of disease and death. Likewise, Salmonella enterica and C. rodentium respond to microbiota in the gut to strength or weaken their virulence. Stacey's team found that a naturally produced chemical in the body called taurine nourishes and trains the microbiota to promote its resistance to subsequent infection.


https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00642-7

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)

Unknown microbes discovered on the International Space Station

Mar

26

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Researchers from the U.S. and India on the International Space Station discovered previously unknown microbes, according to a a March 16 2021 article in Science Alert.

They found four strains of bacteria living in different places in the ISS, including Methylorubrum rhodesianum and the previously unknown species which were named IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5, according to Science Alert. This family of bacteria found in soil and freshwater are involved in nitrogen fixation, plant growth, and can help stop plant pathogens, says team lead University of Southern California geneticist Swati Bijlani.

https://www.sciencealert.com/four-bacterial-strains-discovered-on-the-iss-may-help-grow-better-space-plants/amp