Medical research

Antibiotics allow gut pathogens to 'breathe'

Antibiotics are essential for fighting bacterial infection, but, paradoxically, they can also make the body more prone to infection and diarrhea.

Medical research

Protein-trapped sugar compounds nourish infant gut microbes

UC Davis researchers have shown that an enzyme produced by beneficial microbes in babies' intestines is able to harvest specific sugar compounds from human breast-milk and cow's milk. The discovery identifies those sugars—rather ...

Medical research

Mounting research tightens gut microbial connection with the brain

The trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body, collectively called the microbiome, are estimated to weigh two to six pounds—up to twice the weight of the average human brain. Most of them live in the gut and intestines, ...

Medical research

How gut bacteria can be harnessed as novel therapies for disease

Millions of years of coevolution have inextricably linked you and your microbiome, whose chemical "factories" help keep you healthy by doing such things as synthesizing vitamins and digesting your food. Recently, Professor ...

Immunology

New immune system discovered

(Medical Xpress)—A research team, led by Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral fellow, unveils a new immune system that protects humans and animals from infection.

Immunology

Team discovers how cells distinguish friend from foe

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at UC Davis have shown how the innate immune system distinguishes between dangerous pathogens and friendly microbes. Like burglars entering a house, hostile bacteria give themselves away by ...

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