The Science Archives

15 11, 2019

A pill to learn more about the gut microbiota

Laura_Exden2019-11-15T11:45:36+01:0015 November 2019|The Science, Unusual|Comments Off on A pill to learn more about the gut microbiota

The gut microbiota, an organ difficult to define… The intestinal microbiota… What a vast organ! It consists of a very large number of microorganisms including one hundred thousand billion bacteria, the majority of which is housed in our intestines. Bacteria are ten times more numerous than our human cells. we are largely composed of bacteria, with whom we live in symbiosis. We develop our intestinal microbiota from birth. It becomes more complex with time until it becomes mature after 2-3 years. Very complex and diversified ecosystem, it is at the origin of many health essential functions like the process of digestion [...]

20 09, 2019

A fruit with pre- and probiotics properties?

Laura_Exden2019-09-12T11:35:31+01:0020 September 2019|The Science, Unusual|Comments Off on A fruit with pre- and probiotics properties?

After taking good resolutions for the sporting season, why not extend your efforts on food? And even more if it positively impacts your microbiota, like apple! The apple, fruit with many virtues continues to impress us! Refreshing, low calorie and delicious, the apple shows us once again it can be a good friend for our health. Real reservoir of beneficial components (antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins…), this acidulous fruit is also rich in prebiotics. And more amazing thing, in probiotics! This is shown in an Austrian study. The apple, source of probiotics ... According to a recent study, apples are a great source of [...]

6 09, 2019

If sports performance depended on an intestinal bacterium?

Laura_Exden2019-09-06T12:55:44+01:0006 September 2019|That's your concern, The Science|Comments Off on If sports performance depended on an intestinal bacterium?

The holidays are over and it is time to go back to school or work. It is also time for good resolutions! And that can go through the resumption of physical activity. But, as you can imagine, we are not all equal: some are good, some are not... Physical performance would be due to a bacterium And if the physical abilities were due to the microbiota composition? This is what are reported the team of Joslin Diabetes researchers after analyzing Boston runners in 2015. Scientists recovered fecal samples from athletes over a 2-week period: from one week before until one week [...]

9 08, 2019

Book – « Follow your gut »

Laura_Exden2019-08-09T09:33:12+01:0009 August 2019|That's your concern, The Science|Comments Off on Book – « Follow your gut »

(Freepik) Rob Knight, a researcher from University of California. He is a recognized scientist in the field of gut microbiota. He has written the book named “Follow your gut” in collaboration with the journalist Brendan Buhler. This book is based on his TED talk (2014) “How our microbes make us who we are”. It gives a general vision of the gut microbiota and current knowledge on it. The author-researcher begins his book on a basic concept. He explains to us that the human being is not alone in his body. Indeed, it lives in symbiosis with innumerable microorganisms having [...]

12 07, 2019

Can the ocean modify our microbiota?

Laura_Exden2019-08-09T10:48:16+01:0012 July 2019|Skin, That's your concern, The Science|Comments Off on Can the ocean modify our microbiota?

Summer is finally here! You spend your free time enjoying the sun and maybe even going to the beach. But do you know that swimming in the ocean can alter the skin microbiota? And in addition, can increase the infection risk? A team of researchers presented clinical results suggesting some interactions between our skin and the ocean at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. This clinical trial was motivated by previous studies showing a correlation between swimming at sea, water quality and the infection risk. Indeed, microbiota changes can cause skin, gastrointestinal, or ENT infections including respiratory or [...]

19 06, 2019

Titanium dioxide, enemy of the intestinal microbiota?

Laura_Exden2019-08-09T10:45:58+01:0019 June 2019|That's your concern, The Science|Comments Off on Titanium dioxide, enemy of the intestinal microbiota?

Titanium dioxide TiO2 or E171, is a nanoparticulate additive found in certain foodstuffs, including food supplements, as white opacifying and colour. This additive is present in chewing gums, sweets, industrial pastries, toothpastes, sunscreens, caps… Titanium dioxide is currently a very controversial ingredient. Its use should be banned in France by January 1st 2020. Indeed, it would present a risk for the consumer safety. One of the consequences of its ingestion would be an alteration of the intestinal microbiota. E171 has a deleterious effect on the bacterial activity and the intestinal ecosystem balance (dysbiosis), potentially favoring inflammatory diseases or colorectal cancer in [...]

5 04, 2019

BOOK – “The Mind-Gut Connection”

Laura_Exden2019-08-09T11:12:25+01:0005 April 2019|Brain-Gut, That's your concern, The Science|Comments Off on BOOK – “The Mind-Gut Connection”

In his latest book, "The Mind-Gut Connection," Emeran Mayer MD, a gastroenterologist and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), denounces the traditional mechanistic and martial approach to treating the disease, which consists of repair the damaged part without looking at the body as a whole and without knowing its origin. Already at the medical school, Emeran Mayer was not convinced by this traditional approach of medicine and it was during his third year he wanted to study how the brain interacts with the body in the hope of better understanding some diseases especially chronic diseases whose functioning [...]

22 03, 2019

The intestinal microbiota: related to malnutrition?

Laura_Exden2019-08-09T11:16:06+01:0022 March 2019|Children, The Science|Comments Off on The intestinal microbiota: related to malnutrition?

Many bacteria are housed in our intestines, essential to the functioning of the organism and the maintenance of the health. In particular, they have proved their beneficial effects in the context of digestion. Indeed, these bacteria degrade food in nutrients in order to make them usable by our body, essential to the growth of a living being. The microbiota could therefore be an important part in the overall growth process. According to the World Health Organization, more than 155 million children under 5 years old were stunted growth due to malnutrition in 2016. In case of chronic malnutrition, the gut microbiota [...]

25 01, 2019

Finding age with the intestinal microbiota is now possible!

Laura_Exden2019-08-12T10:31:53+01:0025 January 2019|The Science, Trends and Innovation, Unusual|Comments Off on Finding age with the intestinal microbiota is now possible!

Assessing the age of someone with gut microbiota is possible. This method is based on the analysis of the intestinal microbiota composition. The intestinal microbiota tends to be considered stable and mature around the age of 2-3 years. However, it may undergo some changes over time. Alex Zhavoronkov, a longevity researcher, and colleagues from the artificial intelligence startup InSilico Medicine, decided to create an artificial intelligence that can predict people’s biological age, by DNA analysis of the gut microbiota. A total of 1,165 people between 20 and 90 from different countries were enrolled in this study. More than 3,600 stool samples [...]

30 11, 2018

Bacteria in the brain

Laura_Exden2019-08-12T10:43:12+01:0030 November 2018|Brain-Gut, That's your concern, The Science|Comments Off on Bacteria in the brain

It is well known that bacteria constituting the intestinal microbiota interact with the brain and can influence our mood. However, scientists thought that the brain was sterile, i.e. without any bacterium thanks to the blood brain barrier considered as a filter. But it would seem that a cerebral microbiota exists. This has been suggested by a laboratory from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, at the Society for Neuroscience congress. The researchers studied 34 brains of dead people with schizophrenia or in good health to get these preliminary results. No brain showed inflammation signs. They observed rod shapes by microscopy in each [...]