Happy Friday! Today’s digest includes the tongue microbiome of elderly adults, electroactive biofilms, and the transmission of bacteria from hand washing sink traps. Also featured is a Nature commentary on Unpaywall and open-access research articles.

Pregnancy and early life

Changes in the gut microbiota composition during pregnancy in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) – Ilario Ferrocino – Scientific Reports

Human oral microbiome

Tongue Microbiota and Oral Health Status in Community-Dwelling Elderly Adults – Mikari Asakawa – mSphere

Human respiratory microbiome

Early Airway Microbial Metagenomic and Metabolomic Signatures are Associated with Development of Severe Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia – Charitharth Vivek Lal – American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Human vaginal microbiome

Characterization of pelvic and cervical microbiotas from patients with pelvic inflammatory disease – Yue Wang – Journal of Medical Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Unhealthy gut, unhealthy brain: The role of the intestinal microbiota in neurodegenerative diseases – Lindsay Joy Spielman – Neurochemistry International

Potential of fructooligosaccharides and xylooligosaccharides as substrates to counteract the undesirable effects of several antibiotics on elder faecal microbiota: a first in vitro approach – Beatriz Miguez – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Lack of short-chain fatty acids and overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens define dysbiosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: A Chinese pilot study – Junli Gong – Multiple Sclerosis

Animal experiments

Effects of Oat Bran on Nutrient Digestibility, Intestinal Microbiota, and Inflammatory Responses in the Hindgut of Growing Pigs – Beibei He – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Animal microbiome

Preprint: Bacterial cohesion predicts spatial distribution in the larval zebrafish intestine – Brandon H. Schlomann – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Effects of lily/maize intercropping on rhizosphere microbial community and yield of Lilium davidii var. unicolor – Lijing Zhou – Journal of Basic Microbiology

Comparative Metagenomic Analysis of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Composition and Functional Potentials under Rehmannia glutinosa Consecutive Monoculture – Linkun Wu – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Water and extremophile microbiome

Preprint: Shear stress mediates metabolism and growth in electroactive biofilms – Akhenaton-Andrew D Jones – bioRxiv

Characteristics of Rhizosphere Bacterial Community across Different Cultivation Years in Saline-alkaline Paddy Soils of Songnen Plain of China – Jun-Tao CUI – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Built environment

Preprint: Droplet rather than Aerosol Mediated Dispersion is the Primary Mechanism of Bacterial transmission from Contaminated Hand Washing Sink Traps – Shireen M Kotay – bioRxiv

Probiotics / prebiotics

Review: Prebiotic and probiotic treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Brett R Loman – Nutrition Reviews

Science, publishing, and career

Stepping up to the podium: Wrestling with impostor syndrome as a teacher – Jeffrey Maloy – Science Careers

How Unpaywall is transforming open science – Holly Else – Nature News & Comment