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The appendix is a finger-like pouch that branches off from your large intestine. No one is sure what it does or why it evolved. But when something goes wrong, it can be dangerous. “We do know that it causes problems,” says Dr. Nicole Wilson, a pediatric surgeon at the University of Rochester. “And we do …
A recent study from the University of California-Riverside (UCR) published in Scientific Reports building off of previous work has demonstrated that high-fat diets affect genes linked to not only obesity, colon cancer, and irritable bowels, but high-fat diets also affect genes linked to the immune system, and brain function. “Word on the street is that …
The maintenance of a balanced lipid homeostasis is critical for our health. While consumption of excessive amounts of fatty foods contributes to metabolic diseases such as obesity and atherosclerosis, fat is an indispensable component of our diet. Digested lipids supply the body with essential building blocks and facilitate the absorption of important vitamins. In a …
Broccoli is known to be beneficial to our health. For example, research has shown that increased consumption of the cruciferous vegetable decreases incidence of cancer and type 2 diabetes. In a recent study, researchers at Penn State found that broccoli contains certain molecules that bind to a receptor within mice and help to protect the …
Recent research has discovered that common artificial sweeteners can cause previously healthy gut bacteria to become diseased and invade the gut wall, potentially leading to serious health issues. The study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, is the first to show the pathogenic effects of some of the most widely used artificial sweeteners …
Metal oxide nanoparticles – ubiquitous in nature, and commonly used as food coloring and anti-caking agents in the commercial ingredients industry – may damage and disturb parts of the human intestine, according to new research conducted by Cornell and Binghamton University scientists. Their work was published on Feb. 9 in the journal Antioxidants. “We found …
Like elite firefighters headed into the wilderness to combat an uncontrolled blaze, probiotic bacteria do a better job quelling gut inflammation when they’re equipped with the best gear. A new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison demonstrates just how much promise some well-equipped gut-friendly bacteria hold for improving treatments of inflammatory bowel disease …
Scientists from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) have created a probiotic to restore bile salt metabolism, found in the gastrointestinal tract, to counter the onset and effects of Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI). Their research has been published in Nature Communications. CDI is the infection of the large …
Stem cells are a hot topic for creating medical treatments. However, scientists still do not fully understand how they choose to divide or differentiate to renew organs. Researchers have now found a new biophysical mechanism that regulates stem cells in the intestines of mice. There, a stem cell is not purely defined by intrinsic molecular …
An estimated 500 to 1,000 bacterial species reside in each person’s gut, perhaps numbering 100,000 trillion microorganisms. In a new paper, published July 5, 2022, in Cell Reports, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine used mouse models to explore how diet and feeding patterns affect these intestinal microbes — and …