Category Archives: Human gut

Human microbiome digest, October 6, 2014

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Preterm birth, multiple sclerosis, aging, and Clostridium difficile infection in animal models.

Pregnancy and Birth

Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Clinical Review on Diagnostic Biomarkers and the Role of the Intestinal Microbiota – Niemarkt, Hendrik J. – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

“In this review, we discuss the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of NEC with a focus on the role of microbiota in the development of NEC.”

* Intestinal microbiota of preterm infants differ over time and between hospitals – Diana H Taft – Microbiome Journal

“DNA extracted from stool was used to sequence the 16S rRNA gene by Illumina MiSeq using universal primers. “

Babies’ Gut Bacteria Are Mostly Fixed By Time Spent In The Womb – Nicholas Ellaby – Science 2.0

“Now, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has added a critical piece to the puzzle. “

Human Gut Microbiome

Gut microbiome and the risk factors in central nervous system autoimmunity – Javier Ochoa-Repárazemail, Lloyd H. Kasper – FEBS Letters

“Of interest to this review is the consistency between this range of MS risk factors and the gut microbiome. We postulate that the gut microbiome serves as the niche where different MS risk factors merge, thereby influencing the disease process.”

Compositional dynamics of the human intestinal microbiota with aging: Implications for health – B. Lakshminarayanan – The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging

“This review summarizes the age-related changes in the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the link between the gut microbiota in health and disease. “

Animal models of microbiome research

A Beneficial Effect of Oral Tigecycline Treatment on Clostridium difficile Infection in Gnotobiotic Piglets – Hyeun Bum Kim – Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

“The efficacy of oral tigecycline treatment (2mg/kg for 7 days) on Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) was evaluated in the gnotobiotic pig model, and its effect on human gut microflora transplanted into the gnotobiotic pig was determined. “

A novel multi-strain probiotic and synbiotic supplement for prevention of Clostridium difficile infection in a murine model – Kanthi Kiran Kondepudi – Microbiology and Immunology

“Feces and cecal contents were collected for microbial cell viability, quantitative PCR (qPCR), toxin analyses and histopathology.“

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Microbiome Digest, October 3, 2014

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Antibiotics in the first 24 months of life associated with obesity, Giant Pandas are no cul-de-sac, and microbiome and inflammatory disease. And lots of weekend reads!

Pregnancy and birth

Association of Antibiotics in Infancy With Early Childhood Obesity – L. Charles Bailey – JAMA Pediatrics

“Cumulative exposure to antibiotics was associated with later obesity …; this effect was stronger for broad-spectrum antibiotics”

Human gut microbiome

Faecal microbiota composition and host–microbe cross-talk following gastroenteritis and in postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome – Jonna Jalanka-Tuovinen – Gut

“Using a phylogenetic microarray and selected qPCR assays, we analysed differences in the faecal microbiota of 57 subjects from five study groups”

Animal models of microbiome research

Dietary modulation of the microbiome affects autoinflammatory disease – John R. Lukens – Nature

“Here we show that the intestinal microbiota of diseased Pstpip2cmo mice was characterized by an outgrowth of Prevotella. “

Mammal microbiome

Giant pandas are not an evolutionary cul-de-sac: Evidence from multidisciplinary research
Fuwen Wei – Molecular Biology and Evolution

“The latest and most advanced research shows that giant pandas are successful animals highly adapted to a specialized bamboo diet via morphological, ecological and genetic adaptations and co-adaptation of gut microbiota.”

Plant microbiome

Multi-symbiotic systems: functional implications of the coexistence of grass–endophyte and legume–rhizobia symbioses – Pablo A. García Parisi – Oikos

“After five months, we quantified the number of nodules in Trifolium roots, shoot biomass of both plant species, and the contribution of atmospheric nitrogen fixation vs. soil nitrogen uptake to above ground nitrogen in each plant species. “

Microbes in the news

Young companies, big ideas – The 2014 edition of the CNN 10: Startups – CNN

“Her doubts were assuaged when supporters donated $350,000 to help launch her startup, uBiome. Now, two years later, uBiome is exploring an emerging field of human biology while giving users a glimpse into how their bodies work.”

No women, unfortunately! And they did not accept my application to be a judge either. MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. announces Microbiome Awards winners – PR NewsWire

“MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. is proud to announce the winners of the MO BIO Microbiome Awards, which provide young, extraordinary scientists with funding and recognition to carry out scientific work in the field of microbiome research.”

Super-bacteria are growing in space … and we’re the ones breeding them – Meera Senthilingam – CNN

“You might think of space as a germ-free environment, but microbes can be carried to space inside human gut flora as well as in food and water and once up there, can be expelled by humans in their breath.”

There’s a simple way to stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria – Melinda Mary Pettigrew – Washington Post

“The issue boils down to this: we use too many antibiotics. Studies show that up to half of all antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily.”

Across Indian zoos, rat pee spreading bacteria, killing big cats: Scientists – Priyangi Agarwal – The Times of India

“The leptospirosis bacteria, found in rodent urine, makes its way into blood samples of zoo animals and causes higher morbidity and mortality, scientists at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly have found. “

Brazil releases ‘good’ mosquitoes to fight dengue fever – BBC

“Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with bacteria that suppress dengue fever. The hope is they will multiply, breed and become the majority of mosquitoes, thus reducing cases of the disease.“

Science, Publishing, and Career

Young, Brilliant and Underfunded – Andy Harris – New York Times

“The bulk of that money goes to researchers who are in many cases esteemed in their fields — but also, in many cases, beyond the age when most scientists make their most important contributions to their fields.”

Why women leave tech: It’s the culture, not because ‘math is hard’ – Kieran Snyder – Fortune

“Stories from 716 women who left tech show that the industry’s culture is the primary culprit, not any issues related to science education.”

Satire: Tips For Working With A Lab Partner – FakeScience

Bik’s Picks

Is this the end of autumn as we know it? – Stephanie Pappas – BBC Earth

“The study of the basic triggers of autumnal leaf changes, never mind the impact of climate change on these, is still in its infancy in part because scientists have traditionally focused their attentions on the seasonal changes in March and April than those later in the year.”

The Incredible Rubber Glove – Olga Khazan – The Atlantic

“Basic protective gear was revolutionary for 19th-century medicine, and health workers trying to stop Ebola are recognizing its importance all over again.”

This Is Why Your Voice Sounds So Frickin’ Weird To You – Macrina Cooper-White – The Huffington Post

“Have you ever listened to a recording of your own voice and thought, “Whoa. Do I really sound like that?” Well, it’s time to face the music. You really do.”

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Human microbiome digest, October 2, 2014

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Catching up after some long days of paper writing. Lots of microbiome papers in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, microbiome and Lupus, and biography of skin microbiome.

General (human) microbiome

The Journal of Clinical Investigation has a microbiome issue this month (all behind a subscription wall). Titles include:

The microbiome revolution – Martin J. Blaser
Bacteroides fragilis subverts mucosal biology: from symbiont to colon carcinogenesis – Cynthia L. Sears, Abby L. Geis, Franck Housseau
Host-microbial interactions in the metabolism of therapeutic and diet-derived xenobiotics – Rachel N. Carmody, Peter J. Turnbaugh
Clostridium difficile and the microbiota – Anna M. Seekatz, Vincent B. Young
The microbial basis of inflammatory bowel diseases – Sushila R. Dalal, Eugene B. Chang
Deciphering the tête-à-tête between the microbiota and the immune system – Neeraj K. Surana, Dennis L. Kasper
The contributory role of gut microbiota in cardiovascular disease – W.H. Wilson Tang, Stanley L. Hazen
Antibiotics and the gut microbiota – Sheetal R. Modi, James J. Collins, David A. Relman

When, where and how does microbial community composition matter? – Diana R. Nemergut*, Ashley Shade and Cyrille Violle – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Several papers in this special issue, “The Causes and Consequences of Microbial Community Structure,” use empirical or modeling approaches as well as literature reviews to enrich our mechanistic understanding of the controls over the relationship between community structure and ecosystem processes. “

The bacteriome-mycobiome interaction and antifungal host defense – Jaap ten Oever and Mihai G. Netea – European Journal of Immunology

“In this review, we describe the role of the bacterial microbiome in antifungal host defense.”

Richness and diversity of mammalian fungal communities shape innate and adaptive immunity in health and disease – Lisa Rizzetto – European Journal of Immunology

“In this review, we describe the ecology and the human niches of our fungal “fellow travelers” in both health and disease, discriminating between passengers, colonizers and pathogens based on the interaction of these fungi with the human immune system.”

Pregnancy and Birth

Second trimester amniotic fluid cytokine concentrations, Ureaplasma sp. colonisation status and sexual activity as predictors of preterm birth in Chinese and Australian women
Matthew S Payne – BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

“Second trimester amniocentesis for measurement of inflammatory markers and Ureaplasma sp. DNA was not indicative of risk of preterm birth, at least in these populations.”

Human oral microbiome

Tongue images and tongue coating microbiome in patients with Colorectal Cancer -Shuwen Han – Microbial Pathogenesis

“To evaluate the differences of tongue images and tongue coating microbiome between patients with colorectal cancer and healthy people.”

Hydrogen Sulfide Production from subgingival plaque samples – A. Basic, G. Dahlén – Anaerobe

“The Karen population studied in Northern Thailand showed poor oral hygiene, general gingivitis and moderate periodontal destruction and little tooth loss.”

Italian-style gluten-free diet changes the salivary microbiota and metabolome of African (Saharawi) celiac children – Ruggiero Francavilla – Digestive and Liver Disease

Human skin microbiome

* Microbiology: An integrated view of the skin microbiome – Patrick D. Schloss – Nature

Biogeography and individuality shape function in the human skin metagenome – Julia Oh – Nature

“Here metagenomic analyses of diverse body sites in healthy humans demonstrate that local biogeography and strong individuality define the skin microbiome. “

Human respiratory microbiome

Sinus culture poorly predicts resident microbiota – Leah J. Hauser – International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology

“Ethmoid samples from 54 CRS patients collected during endoscopic sinus surgery were analyzed by both clinical culture and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. The association between 16S relative abundance and detection by culture was determined using logistic regression.”

Methicillin-Sensitive and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage in a Random Sample of Non-Hospitalized Adult Population in Northern Germany – Jaishri Mehraj – PLOS ONE

“A total of 2026 potential participants were randomly selected through the resident’s registration office and invited by mail. They were requested to collect a nasal swab at home and return it by mail. S. aureus was identified by culture and PCR. “

Severity-related changes of bronchial microbiome in COPD – Marian Garcia-Nunez – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

“Bronchial microbiome of COPD patients was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplification and pyrosequencing in sputum samples obtained during stability. “

Human gut microbiome

* Intestinal Dysbiosis Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus – Arancha Hevia – mBio

“A group of 20 SLE patients in remission, for which there was strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, was recruited, and we used an optimized Ion Torrent 16S rRNA gene-based analysis protocol to decipher the fecal microbial profiles of these patients and compare them with those of 20 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects.”

Systems Biology Analysis of Omeprazole Therapy in Cirrhosis Demonstrates Significant Shifts in Gut Microbiota Composition and Function – Jasmohan Singh Bajaj- American Journal of Physiology – Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

“15 compensated cirrhotics and 15 age-matched controls underwent serum gastrin measurement, stool microbiota profiling with multi-tagged pyrosequencing and urinary metabolic profiling with NMR spectroscopy to assess microbial co-metabolites before/after a 14-day course of 40mg/day omeprazole under constant diet conditions’

The Impact of Proton Pump Inhibitors on the Human Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Daniel E. Freedberg – Clinics in Laboratory Medicine

The intestinal microbiota and allergic asthma – Marie-Claire Arrietaa, Brett Finlay- Journal of Infection

“By describing some of the most relevant human and animal studies in this field, we explore the concept that significant perturbations of the intestinal and perhaps the lung microbiota are a cause of allergic asthma.”

Minireview: Linking genetic variation in human Toll-like receptor 5 genes to the gut microbiome’s potential to cause inflammation – Cynthia A. Leifer – Immunology Letters

“Loss of TLR5 has profound effects on the microbiota that include greater temporal instability of major lineages and upregulation of flagellar motility genes that may be linked to the reduced levels of anti-flagellin antibodies in the TLR5-/- host.”

A Little O2 May Go a Long Way in Structuring the GI Microbiome – Thomas M. Schmidt, John Y. Kao – Gastroenterology

Microbiome, Innate Immunity, and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma – Jonathan Baghdadi – Clinics in Laboratory Medicine

Animal models of microbiome research

Immunology: Starve a fever, feed the microbiota – Seth Rakoff-Nahoum & Laurie E. Comstock – Nature – belongs to:

Rapid fucosylation of intestinal epithelium sustains host–commensal symbiosis in sickness – Joseph M. Pickard – Nature

“We hypothesized that the host might utilize internal resources to support the gut microbiota during the acute phase of the disease.”

Bacteria from Diverse Habitats Colonize and Compete in the Mouse Gut – Henning Seedorf – Cell

“Microbiota from diverse habitats colonize and compete in the guts of gnotobiotic mice”

Dynamics of gut microbiota in autoimmune lupus – Husen Zhang – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“We investigated the effects of host genetics, sex, age, and dietary intervention on the gut microbiome in a murine lupus model.”

Clostridium ramosum Promotes High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Gnotobiotic Mouse Models – Anni Woting – mBio

“To clarify the possible obesogenic potential of this bacterial species and to unravel the underlying mechanism, we investigated the role of C. ramosum in obesity development in gnotobiotic mice.”

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Human microbiome digest, September 29, 2014

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Smoking and the subgingival ecosystem, inflammatory bowel diseases, iron in the gut, and metabolism of acetaminophen.

Pregnancy and birth

External influence of early childhood establishment of gut microbiota and subsequent health implications – Peris M. Munyaka – Frontiers in Pediatrics

“Early exposures impacting the intestinal microbiota are associated with the development of childhood diseases that may persist to adulthood”

Human oral microbiome

* Smoking decreases structural and functional resilience in the subgingival ecosystem – Vinayak Joshi – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

“16S cloning and sequencing was used for bacterial identification and multiplexed bead-based flow cytometry was used to quantify the levels of 27 immune mediators.”

Human gut microbiome

Functional Impacts of the Intestinal Microbiome in the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Jennifer Li – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

“We highlight functional roles of specific bacterial groups in the development and management of IBD. “

Nutritional iron turned inside out: intestinal stress from a gut microbial perspective – Guus A.M. Kortman – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

“This review covers the multifaceted aspects of nutritional iron stress with respect to growth, composition, metabolism and pathogenicity of the gut microbiota in relation to human health.”

Animal models of microbiome research

The role of intestinal microbiota in murine models of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity – Lucia A Possamai – Liver International

“A urinary metabolic profile was obtained using 1H-NMR. Baseline hepatic glutathione content and CYP2E1 expression were quantified.”

Dietary Xylo-oligosaccharide stimulates intestinal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli but has limited effect on intestinal integrity in rats – Ellen Gerd Christensen – BMC Research Notes

“Changes in faecal and caecal bacterial composition determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR for selected bacterial groups revealed that the overall bacterial composition did not differ markedly“

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Microbiome digest, September 25, 2014

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Asbestos and microbiome, human gut microbiome during a long stay in the hospital, gut microbiome of 15 mammals, Wolbachia in insects, microbiome of plant roots, and eukaryotes in Norwegian waters.

Human respiratory microbiome

Airways microbiota: Hidden Trojan horses in asbestos exposed individuals? – Dimitrios E. Magouliotis – Medical Hypotheses

“Here, we propose and discuss that certain proteins secreted by airways symbiotic microbiota create membrane pores to the airway epithelial cells, through which asbestos fibers can penetrate the lung parenchyma and reach the sub-pleural areas.”

Human gut microbiome

Membership and Behavior of Ultra-Low-Diversity Pathogen Communities Present in the Gut of Humans during Prolonged Critical Illness – Alexander Zaborin – mBio

“We analyzed the 16S rRNA amplicon composition in fecal samples of selected patients during their prolonged stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) and observed the emergence of ultra-low-diversity communities (1 to 4 bacterial taxa) in 30% of the patients.”

Mammal microbiome

Convergence of gut microbiomes in myrmecophagous mammals – Frederic Delsuc – Molecular Ecology

“Here, we expand upon previous mammalian gut microbiome studies … to characterize the composition of gut microbiota in 15 species representing all placental myrmecophagous lineages and their close relatives from zoo- and field-collected samples.

Insect microbiome

Symbionts Commonly Provide Broad Spectrum Resistance to Viruses in Insects: A Comparative Analysis of Wolbachia Strains – Julien Martinez – PLOS Pathogens

“We have investigated antiviral protection in 19 Wolbachia strains originating from 16 Drosophila species after transfer into the same genotype of Drosophila simulans. “

Plant microbiome

Niche and host-associated functional signatures of the root surface microbiome – Maya Ofek-Lalzar – Nature Communications

“Metagenomic (genetic potential) analysis identifies a core set of functional genes associated with root colonization in both plant hosts, and metatranscriptomic (functional expression) analysis revealed that most genes enriched in the root zones are expressed. “

Water microbiome

Deep-branching Novel Lineages and High Diversity of Haptophytes in the Skagerrak (Norway) Uncovered by 454 Pyrosequencing – Elianne S. Egge – Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

“Nano- and picoplanktonic subsurface samples were collected monthly for 2 yr, and the haptophytes were targeted by amplification of RNA/cDNA with Haptophyta-specific 18S ribosomal DNA V4 primers. “

Microbes in the news

Intensive Loss of Gut Bacteria Diversity – Molly Sharlach – The Scientist

In a study published today (September 23) in mBio, researchers also fed ICU patients’ “ultra-low-diversity” gut microbes to C. elegans roundworms.

How Termites Evolved to Decompose Plant Matter: Gut Bacteria and Fungus – Catherine Griffin – Science World Report

“In order to better understand this interaction, the researchers analyzed plant decomposition genes in the first genome sequencing of a fungus-farming termite and its fungal crop, and bacterial gut communities.”

Science and Career

Scientists Are Not Trusted By Americans – Here’s Why – Science 2.0

“A paper in PNAS finds that Americans seem wary of researchers because they get grant funding and do not trust scientists pushing political and cultural agendas. “

Read The Nasty Comments Women In Science Deal With Daily – Macrina Cooper-White – Huffington Post

“Every day you’re faced with some comment, some snide remark, some inability to get a name on a research paper. “

Bik’s Picks

Water on Earth is older than the sun, scientists say – Deborah Netburn – Los Angeles Times

“Some of the water molecules in your drinking glass were created more than 4.5 billion years ago, according to new research.”

Science Graphic of the Week: Three Ways to Visualize Our Melting Northern Ice Cap – Nick Stockton – Wired.com

“These three visualizations, by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, illustrate this steadily unfolding situation, which has nightmarish implications..“

Healthy food might be bad for patients – here’s why – Amanda Squire – The Conversation

“The truth is that healthy food as we think of it may not be what patients really need.”

Brazil releases ‘good’ mosquitoes to fight dengue fever – BBC News

“Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with bacteria that suppress dengue fever.”

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Microbiome digest, September 23, 2014

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I don’t have much time tonight, so I’ll keep it short.

Pregnancy and birth

Homogeneity of the Vaginal Microbiome at the Cervix, Posterior Fornix, and Vaginal Canal in Pregnant Chinese Women – Yi-E Huang- Microbial Ecology

Impact of Feeding and Medical Practices on the Development of Necrotizing Enterocolitis – Brian L. Montenegro, Camilia R. Martin – Current Pediatrics Reports

Human respiratory microbiome

Expanding Our Understanding of Respiratory Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis – John J. LiPuma – Annals of the American Thoracic Society

Microbiota in the throat and risk factors of laryngeal carcinoma – Hongli Gong – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Membership and Behavior of Ultra-Low-Diversity Pathogen Communities Present in the Gut of Humans during Prolonged Critical Illness – Alexander Zaborin – mBio

The Overarching Influence of the Gut Microbiome on End-Organ Function: The Role of Live Probiotic Cultures – Luis Vitetta – Pharmaceuticals

Excretion of host DNA in feces is associated with risk of Clostridium difficile infection –  Caroline Vincent – Journal of Immunology Research

Animal and in vitro studies of human microbiome

Effect of Oral Administration of Metronidazole or Prednisolone on Fecal Microbiota in Dogs – Hirotaka Igarashi – PLOS ONE

Age and Microenvironment Outweigh Genetic Influence on the Zucker Rat Microbiome
Hannah Lees – PLOS ONE

A comparative evaluation of prebiotic oligosaccharides using in vitro cultures of infant fecal microbiome – J Stiverson – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Alterations in Ileal Mucosa Bacteria Related to Diet Complexity and Growth Performance in Young Pigs – Crystal L. Levesque – PLOS ONE

Mammal microbiome

Fecal microbial diversity and putative function in captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas), and binturongs (Arctictis binturong) – Erin A. McKenney – Integrative Zoology

Pathogenic Eukaryotes in Gut Microbiota of Western Lowland Gorillas as Revealed by Molecular Survey – Ibrahim Hamad – Scientific Reports

Insect microbiome

Routes of acquisition of the gut microbiota of Apis mellifera – J. Elijah Powell – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Sponge microbiome

Symbiotic archaea in marine sponges show stability and host specificity in community structure and ammonia oxidation functionality – Fan Zhang – FEMS Microbiology Ecology
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1574-6941.12427/abstract

Plant microbiome

Comparison of root system architecture and rhizosphere microbial communities of Balsas teosinte and domesticated corn cultivars – Márton Szoboszlay – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Micromonospora from nitrogen fixing nodules of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). A new promising Plant Probiotic Bacteria – Pilar Martínez-Hidalgo – Scientific Reports

Effects of Clonal Integration on Microbial Community Composition and Processes in the Rhizosphere of the Stoloniferous Herb Glechoma longituba (Nakai) Kuprian – Ningfei Lei – PLOS ONE

Soil type dependent effects of a potential biocontrol inoculant on indigenous bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of field-grown lettuce – Susanne Schreiter – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Soil microbiome

Culturable fungal assemblages growing within Cenococcum sclerotia in forest soils – Keisuke Obase – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Food microbiology

Dynamic changes of the microbial communities during the preparation of traditional Tibetan Qula cheese – Bei Zhang – Dairy Science & Technology

Metabolomics / Functional metagenomics

Identification of Aminoglycoside and β-Lactam Resistance Genes from within an Infant Gut Functional Metagenomic Library – Fiona Fouhy – PLOS ONE

Mining the Metabiome: Identifying Novel Natural Products from Microbial Communities

Aleksandr Milshteyn, Jessica S. Schneider, Sean F. Brady – Chemistry & Biology

Commensally sourced antibiotics – Cláudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Impact of dietary polydextrose fiber on the human gut metabolome – Santosh Lamichhane – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Preserving the earth’s microbes for drug discovery in the future – Ranjith N. Kumavath and Satyanarayana S.V – Journal of Microbiology and Microbial Research

Microbial Ecology

PNAS has a special issue this week on Biogeography (with the Panama forest trees paper by Jessica Green): The emergence and promise of functional biogeography – Cyrille Violle – PNAS

Active invasion of bacteria into living fungal cells – Nadine Moebius – eLife

Microbes in the news

Microbiome: You are never alone – John A Goldman – Atlanta Medicine

Seeking the Sweet Spot, from Mouth to Microbiome – David Katz – Huffington Post

New evidence suggests long-term relationships with bacteria begins before we’re born – Norbert Berzog and David Niesel – Galveston County Daily News

MIT Developing Ship-Repairing Bacteria – World Maritime News

Science and publishing

Anonymous peer-review comments may spark legal battle – Kelly Servick – Science

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Microbiome digest, September 22, 2014

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Temporal stability of the microbiomes of 85 adults, bacteria in breast milk, vaginal microbiome during pregnancy, water microbiomes, and Bik’s Picks.

Human microbiome general

Temporal variability is a personalized feature of the human microbiome – Gilberto E Flores – PeerJ PrePrints

“Here we address this gap in understanding by profiling the forehead, gut (fecal), palm, and tongue microbial communities in 85 adults, weekly over three months.”

Pregnancy and birth

It’s Alive: Microbes and Cells in Human Milk and Their Potential Benefits to Mother and Infant – Lars Bode – Advances in Nutrition

“This article is a summary of the symposium “It’s Alive: Microbes and Cells in Human Milk and Their Potential Benefits to Mother and Infant” held 29 April 2014 at the ASN Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2014 in San Diego, CA.”

Microorganisms in the Female Genital Tract during Pregnancy: Tolerance versus Pathogenesis – Bruna de Andrade Ramos – American Journal of Reproductive Immunology

“We review the state of knowledge of microbe–host interactions in gestational tissues and highlight mechanisms that promote tolerance or pathogenesis.”

Determinants and pattern of care seeking for preterm newborns in a rural Bangladeshi cohort – Rashed Shah – BMC Health Services Research

“Only one-fifth (19.7%) of preterm newborns were taken to seek either preventive or curative health care.”

Human oral microbiome

Microbial signature profiles of periodontally healthy and diseased patients – Talita Gomes Baêta Lourenço – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

“Subgingival biofilm was obtained from patients with periodontal health (27), gingivitis (11), chronic periodontitis (35) and aggressive periodontitis (24), and analysed for the presence of >250 species/phylotypes using HOMIM.”

Human gut microbiome

Review: Modulation of the Gut Microbiota by Nutrients with Prebiotic and Probiotic Properties – Céline Druart – Advances in Nutrition

“In this review, we describe how changes in the composition and/or activity of the gut microbiota by administration of nutrients with probiotic or prebiotic properties can modulate host gene expression and metabolism and thereby positively influence host adipose tissue development and related metabolic disorders.”

Mammal microbiome

Resistance to Antibiotics of Clinical Relevance in the Fecal Microbiota of Mexican Wildlife – Jurgi Cristóbal-Azkarate – PLOS ONE

“Here, we used culture and molecular methods to assess ATBR in bacteria in fecal samples from howler monkeys, spider monkeys, tapirs and felids living freely in two regions of the Mexican state of Veracruz under different degrees of human influence.“

Bird microbiome

Do feather-degrading bacteria actually degrade feather colour? No significant effects of plumage microbiome modifications on feather colouration in wild great tits – Staffan Jacob – Naturwissenschaften

“Here, we tested whether (i) keratinolytic microorganisms can degrade feathers in vivo and thus modify the colour of feathers during the nesting period and (ii) whether feather microorganisms have a long-term effect on the investment in colouration of newly moulted feathers.”

Plant microbiome

Impact of swapping soils on the endophytic bacterial communities of pre-domesticated, ancient and modern maize – David Johnston-Monje – BMC Plant Biology

“The impact of these soil swaps on founder bacterial endophyte communities was tested using 16S-rDNA profiling, culturing and microbial trait phenotyping.“

Microbiota in Wheat Roots, Rhizosphere and Soil in Crops Grown in Organic and Other Production Systems – Leszek Lenc – Journal of Phytopathology

“The other two systems were intermediate, with microbial communities suggesting that the conventional system produced a slightly more suppressive environment than the integrated system. “

Soil microbiome

Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in Bleached Mottles of Tropical Podzols –
K. J. Silva, P. Vidal-Torrado, M. R. Lambais – Microbial Ecology

“In this study, we examined the bacterial and archaeal communities along three Brazilian coastal podzol profiles, as well as in bleached mottles and their immediate vicinity, using 16S rRNA gene profiling.”

Water microbiome

Microplastic is an abundant and distinct microbial habitat in an urban river – Amanda McCormick – Environmental Science & Technology

“Results from high-throughput sequencing showed that bacterial assemblages colonizing microplastic within the river were less diverse and were significantly different in taxonomic composition compared to those from the water column and suspended organic matter.”

Application of Ion Torrent Sequencing to the Assessment of the Effect of Alkali Ballast Water Treatment on Microbial Community Diversity – Masanori Fujimoto – PLOS ONE

“The impact of NaOH as a ballast water treatment (BWT) on microbial community diversity was assessed using the 16S rRNA gene based Ion Torrent sequencing with its new 400 base chemistry.”

Microbial diversity of the Soldhar hot spring, India, assessed by analyzing 16S rRNA and protein-coding genes – Avinash Sharma – Annals of Microbiology

“Bacterial diversity of the Soldhar hot spring, located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India, was investigated using a clone library, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and functional genes.”

Microbial community composition and in silico predicted metabolic potential reflect biogeochemical gradients between distinct peatland types – Zuzana Urbanová and Jiří Bárta – FEMS Microbial Ecology

“Species richness and microbial diversity increased significantly from bog to fen, with SSF in between, reflecting the variation in pH, nutrient availability and peat decomposability. “

A molecular survey of freshwater microeukaryotes in an Arctic reservoir (Svalbard, 79°N) in summer by using next-generation sequencing – Thangavelu Boopathi – Polar Biology

“In this study, freshwater microeukaryotes in an Arctic reservoir at Ny-Ǻlesund (Svalbard, Norway) were studied using the hypervariable V1–V3 small subunit rRNA and 454 pyrosequencing.”

Built Environment

Urban microbiomes and urban ecology: How do microbes in the built environment affect human sustainability in cities? – Gary M. King – Journal of Microbiology

“I provide here a definition of the urban microbiome, and through examples indicate its centrality to human function and wellbeing in urban systems”

Phages and viruses

Metagenomic Evaluation of the Highly Abundant Human Gut Bacteriophage CrAssphage for Source Tracking of Human Fecal Pollution – Elyse Stachler and Kyle Bibby – Environmental Science & Technology

“Here, 86 publically available metagenomes were surveyed to determine the presence and abundance of crAssphage in various environments, and to identify its utility for source tracking of human fecal pollution.”

Microbes in the news

Understanding the Microbiome and Its Impact on Human Health – Kristine Nally – HCPLive

“Instant polling at an educational session of the 2014 American Academy of Pain Management annual clinical meeting in Phoenix, AZ, revealed that only 40 percent of the approximately 350-person audience was “familiar” with the concept of a microbiome.”

Mining the microbiome for medicines – Set a thief… – The Economist

“Antibiotics are not the only things Dr Donia’s technique might turn up, for the bugs in the human microbiome spit out all sorts of other chemicals that could potentially be put to use as drugs.”

Techniques

Comparative Analysis of Functional Metagenomic Annotation and the Mappability of Short Reads – Rogan Carr and Elhanan Borenstein – MicroBEnet

“We therefore set out to develop a set of ‘best practices’ for our lab for metagenomic sequence annotation and to prove (or disprove) quantitatively that such direct functional annotation of short reads provides a valid functional representation of the sample.”

Science and publishing

Anonymous peer-review comments may spark legal battle – Kelly Servick – Science Insider

“The power of anonymous comments—and the liability of those who make them—is at the heart of a possible legal battle embroiling PubPeer, an online forum launched in October 2012 for anonymous, postpublication peer review.”

Time to Raise the Profile of Women and Minorities in Science – Brian Welle and Megan Smith – Scientific American

“Along these lines, over the past few years, we discovered some pretty ugly news about our beloved Google Doodles. “

Bik’s Picks

Immune system of newborn babies stronger than previously thought – Science Daily

“Contrary to what was previously thought, newborn immune T cells may have the ability to trigger an inflammatory response to bacteria, according to a new study.”

The Preservation Of Lonesome George – Sarah Fecht – PopSci.com

“Decades after the last giant tortoise was thought to have disappeared from the island of Pinta in the Galapagos, Lonesome George turned up in 1971 and became a conservation icon.”

 Great white sharks partly to blame for otter recovery stall – Peter Fimrite – SF Gate

“Most scientists agree that the number of animals, which are also known as southern sea otters, should be increasing, but hungry predators and a lack of food may be limiting their growth.”

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Microbiome digest, September 19, 2014

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An update from the Cochrane Review Journal on probiotics to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis, oral microbiome in apical periodontitis or polycystic ovary syndrome, vaginal and gut microbiome, and bacteria in shrimp, soil, and water.
Pregnancy and birth

Probiotics for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants – Khalid AlFaleh, and Jasim Anabrees – Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal

“For this update, searches were made of MEDLINE (1966 to October 2013), EMBASE (1980 to October 2013), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library (2013, Issue 10), and abstracts of annual meetings of the Society for Pediatric Research (1995 to 2013).”

Anne Geddes Unveils New Image Of A Baby Born Too Soon – March of Dimes

“Mrs. Geddes donated the image of Alfred, who was born 8 weeks too soon, weighing just two pounds, six ounces, to the March of Dimes, which made the photo the center of its 2014 World Prematurity Day campaign.”

Human oral microbiome

Highly Diverse Microbiota in Dental Root Canals in Cases of Apical Periodontitis (Data of Illumina Sequencing) – Veiko Vengerfeldt – Journal of Endodontics

“Samples were collected under strict aseptic conditions from 12 teeth … and characterized by profiling the microbial community on the basis of the V6 hypervariable region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene by using Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing combinatorial sequence-tagged polymerase chain reaction products.”

Association between Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Oral Microbiota and Systemic Antibody Responses – Aliye Akcalı – PLOS ONE

“Salivary levels of seven putative periodontal pathogens were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and serum antibody levels were analyzed by ELISA. “

Human genital microbiome

The Changing Landscape of the Vaginal Microbiome – Bernice Huang – Clinics in Laboratory Medicine

“The vaginal microbiome is a dynamic ecosystem in which the microbiota play a major role in regulating parameters such as pH and in limiting the growth of potentially harmful organisms”

Human gut microbiome

Review: Diet, gut microbes, and genetics in immune function: can we leverage our current knowledge to achieve better outcomes in inflammatory bowel diseases? – Vanessa A Leone – Current Opinion in Immunology

“This review summarizes our current understanding of dietary-induced changes in gut microbiota on autoimmunity in the context of IBD.”

The evolving role of the gut microbiome in human disease – Lloyd H. Kasper – FEBS Letters

“We are delighted to introduce this Special Issue, which summarizes the current understanding of the complex relationship between the gut microbiome and the host.”

Virulence genes are a signature of the microbiome in the colorectal tumor microenvironment – Michael B Burns – bioRxiv Preprints

“We characterized the microbiome in 44 primary tumor and 44 patient-matched normal colon tissues. We find that tumors harbor distinct microbial communities compared to nearby healthy tissue.”

Gut Microbiota: A Natural Adjuvant for Vaccination – Oliver Pabst, Mathias Hornef – Immunity

“In this issue of Immunity, Oh et al. (2014) reveal an unappreciated facet of how the microbiota influences immune responses. Immunity to nonadjuvanted vaccines depends on Toll-like-receptor-5-mediated sensing of the microbiota.”

Animal and bioreactor models

TLR5-Mediated Sensing of Gut Microbiota Is Necessary for Antibody Responses to Seasonal Influenza Vaccination – Jason Z. Oh – Immunity

“Vaccination of Trl5−/− mice resulted in reduced antibody titers and lower frequencies of plasma cells, demonstrating a role for TLR5 in immunity to TIV. This was due to a failure to sense host microbiota. “

In vivo degradation of alginate in the presence and in the absence of resistant starch – Melliana Jonathan – Food Chemistry

“This study evaluated the intestinal degradability of alginate during 74 days intake in pigs as models for humans. “

Effect of prebiotics on the fecal microbiota of elderly volunteers after dietary supplementation of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 – Edna P. Nyangale – Anaerobe

“Single stage batch culture anaerobic fermenters were used and inoculated with fecal microbiota obtained from volunteers after taking a 28 day treatment of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 (GanedenBC30 (BC30)) or a placebo.”

Intestinal anastomotic injury alters spatially defined microbiome composition and function – Benjamin D Shogan – Microbiome journal

“Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of samples collected on the day of surgery … and the 6th day following surgery …, we analyzed the changes in luminal versus tissue-associated microbiota at anastomotic sites created in the colon of rats.”

General human microbiome

Microbiome in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection – January T. Salas, Theresa L. Chang – Clinics in Laboratory Medicine

“Individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have altered microbiome associated with immune activation that impacts the consquence of disease progression”

Shrimp microbiome

Characterization of the intestinal microbiota in Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, fed diets with different lipid sources – Meiling Zhang – Aquaculture

“an Illumina-based sequencing method was used to examine the intestinal bacterial composition of L. vannamei following six diets with different lipid sources.”

Soil microbiome

Pyrosequencing reveals the effect of mobilizing agents and lignocellulosic substrate amendment on microbial community composition in a real industrial PAH-polluted soil –
S. Lladó – Journal of Hazardous Materials

“Soil microbial community assessment through classical (MPN) and molecular tools (DGGE and pyrosequencing) is provided”

Water microbiome

High-throughput sequencing reveals neustonic and planktonic microbial eukaryote diversity in coastal waters – Joe D. Taylor and Michael Cunliffe – Journal of Phycology

“Here, we use high-throughput 18S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize protist and fungal diversity in the SML at a coastal time-series station and compare with underlying plankton assemblages. “

Microbes in the news

Sex in the Sink: Gene-Swapping Bacteria Are Making New Superbugs – Maggie Fox – NBC News

“Over the past decade, there has been a steady and alarming increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a trend that poses a serious threat to the U.S. medical system,” Segre and colleagues wrote in their report.

Science, publishing, and career

To Get More Out of Science, Show the Rejected Research – Brendan Nyhan – New York Times

“In a new white paper, I propose that the American Political Science Association offer options for articles in a Registered Reports-style format. “

Pushing Women and People of Color Out of Science Before We Go In – Jennifer Selvidge – Huffington Post

“The misogyny and racism I experienced and saw at MIT became more and more concerning, between professors making “get back in the kitchen jokes” and hearing about what seemed to be legions of male PhD student sexually harassing woman undergraduates.”

Bik’s Picks

I want one! These adorable giant African rats detect land mines and TB for a living – Bec Crew – Scientific American

“So yesterday, I adopted an unborn land-mine-detecting African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) from Tanzania. “

No sedative necessary: Scientists discover new ‘sleep node’ in the brain – Science Daily

“A sleep-promoting circuit located deep in the primitive brainstem has revealed how we fall into deep sleep. “

Experts: Science Class Can Dazzle With Less Danger – Dan Elliott – ABC News

“On Sept. 3, 13 people, mostly children, were burned by a methanol-fueled flash fire during a science demonstration at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum in Reno.”

(Satire) Bono Showcases New Genome Sequencers, The i-LUMINA 6 and i-LUMINA 6 plus – the Allium

“Lead singer with the rock band U2, Bono, revealed the latest in genome sequencing technology at a gala event in the Moscone Center in San Francisco, yesterday.”

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Microbiome digest, September 18, 2014

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It’s an exciting day at MicrobiomeDigest, with an Ig Nobel Prize awarded to the baby poop sausages paper, the Breaking Bad of gut microbiota, the microbiome of salami, and how bacteria can help in agriculture. Here we go:

Respiratory microbiome

Persistence of livestock-associated antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina over 14 days – Maya Nadimpalli – Occupational & Environmental Medicine (see also below)

“Nasal carriage of livestock-associated S. aureus, multidrug-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus can persist among industrial hog operation workers over a 14-day period, which included up to 96 h away from work.”

Human gut microbiome

Breaking Bad – the two sides of gut microbiota in portal hypertension – Gautam Mehta and Rajeshwar P Mookerjee – Liver International

“In this issue of Liver International, Rincon and colleagues bring these threads together by exploring the effects of modulating gut flora on portal hypertension in the context of decompensated cirrhosis.”

Pregnancy and birth

Winners of the 2014 Ig Nobel Prize in Nutrition – ABC News

2014 IgNobel Prize in Nutrition: “Raquel Rubio, Anna Jofra, Belen Martin, Teresa Aymerich and Margarita Garriga, for their study of using infant fecal bacteria as potential probiotic starter cultures for fermented sausages.”

Plant microbiome

Why Tiny Microbes Mean Big Things for Farming – Peter Andrey Smith – National Geographic

“The soil-dwelling bacteria that we walk on every day are working their way into technologies that could help feed the world.”

Plant interactions with other organisms: molecules, ecology and evolution – Amy T. Austin and Carlos L. Ballaré – New Phytologist

“There are still many open questions regarding how plant interactions with other organisms are shaped by evolutionary forces over time. “

Food microbiology

Bacterial diversity in typical Italian salami at different ripening stages as revealed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons – Justyna Połka – Food Microbiology

“Salame Piacentino PDO was analysed by HTS (Illumina) of 16S rRNA amplicons.”

Techniques

1-day bowel preparation with polyethylene glycol 3350 is as effective and safe as a 3-day preparation for colonoscopy in children – Serge A Sorser – BMC Research Notes

“There were no differences between the groups in efficacy of bowel preparation based on colonoscopic grading or the safety of the preparation.”

Viruses and phages

Metagenomic Analysis of Double-stranded DNA viruses in Healthy Adults – Kristine M. Wylie – BMC Biology

“We analyzed eukaryotic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses, together with dsDNA replicative intermediates of single-stranded DNA viruses, in metagenomic sequence data generated by the HMP. “

see also: Your own personal virome – Biome – BioMedCentral

“If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And if your bacterial DNA datasets give you viral DNA contaminants, you use them to study the virome. “

Bioinformatics

Estimating overannotation across prokaryotic genomes using BLAST+, UBLAST, LAST and BLAT – Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb and Brigitte Hudy-Yuffa – BMC Research Notes

“Despite faster programs miss sequence matches otherwise found by NCBI?s BLAST, the overannotation estimates are very similar and thus these programs can be used with confidence for this task.”

Antibiotic and resistance

Single-molecule sequencing to track plasmid diversity of hospital-associated carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae – Sean Conlan – Science Translational Medicine

“we performed comprehensive surveillance and genomic sequencing of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center patient population and hospital environment. “

U.S. Lays Out Strategy to Combat Crisis of Antibiotic Resistance – Sabrina Tavernise – NY Times

“The Obama administration on Thursday announced measures to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance”

Factory-Farm Workers Found to Carry High Levels of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria – Willy Blackmore – TakePart (see also above)

“While only one worker was found to be carrying MRSA after nostril swabs were tested, 86 percent carried staph bacteria associated with livestock—far higher than the general population. “

Microbes in the News

Microbirth: The Extra Question Every Expectant Mother Needs To Ask – Toni Harman – Huffington Post

“The doctor or midwife looks at the expectant mother blankly. “I’m sorry. I have never heard of the microbiome. And I’ve never heard of Microbirth.”

Science, publishing, and career

Rhubarb pie and science – Sandy Becker – Science Working Life

“When I am asked how I became a developmental biologist, I say, “Jim hired me for my rhubarb pie and my Phi Beta Kappa key, and the rest is history.””

Can Post-Publication Peer-Reviews Increase Research Transparency? – Liz Allen – Berkeley Bitts

“When Peer Review is done in the open by named individuals, we believe it should be more constructive and issues will surface more quickly.”

 

Bik’s Picks

Winners of the 2014 Ig Nobel Awards – ABC News

“The 2014 Ig Nobel winners, awarded Thursday at Harvard University by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine”

Europeans drawn from three ancient ‘tribes’ – Paul Rincon – BBC News

“The modern European gene pool was formed when three ancient populations mixed within the last 7,000 years, Nature journal reports.”

Bowl Half Empty: Dogs Can Be Pessimists – Richard Farrell – Discovery

“New PhD research out of the University of Sydney by Dr. Melissa Starling, from the school’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, sought to find out if dogs had underlying personalities that tended toward either optimism of pessimism.”

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Microbiome digest, September 17, 2014

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Human gut microbiome and artificial sweeteners, cholera recovery, or ancient coprolites, protbiotics and the brain, coastal soil, diversity and science, metabolomics, and Bik’s Picks.
Human gut microbiome

Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota – Jotham Suez – Nature

“We identify NAS-altered microbial metabolic pathways that are linked to host susceptibility to metabolic disease, and demonstrate similar NAS-induced dysbiosis and glucose intolerance in healthy human subjects.”

Members of the human gut microbiota involved in recovery from Vibrio cholerae infection – Ansel Hsiao – Nature

“We find that recovery is characterized by a pattern of accumulation of bacterial taxa that shows similarities to the pattern of assembly/maturation of the gut microbiota in healthy Bangladeshi children”

Paleomicrobiology: Revealing Fecal Microbiomes of Ancient Indigenous Cultures – Raul J. Cano – PLOS ONE

“We analyzed human coprolites from the Huecoid and Saladoid cultures from a settlement on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico.”

Animal models of microbiome research

Modulation of Intestinal Microbiota by the Probiotic VSL#3 Resets Brain Gene Expression and Ameliorates the Age-Related Deficit in LTP – Eleonora Distrutti – PLOS ONE

“Here, we report that treatment of aged rats with VSL#3 induced a robust change in the composition of intestinal microbiota with an increase in the abundance of Actinobacteria and Bacterioidetes, which was reduced in control-treated aged rats.”

Soil microbiome

Unravelling the Carbon and Sulphur Metabolism in Coastal Soil Ecosystems Using Comparative Cultivation-Independent Genome-Level Characterisation of Microbial Communities – Basit Yousuf – PLOS ONE

“Distinct compositional differences were observed among the clone libraries, which revealed a dominance of phylotypes associated with carbon and sulphur cycling”

Techniques

Partition Enrichment of Nucleotide Sequences (PINS) – A Generally Applicable, Sequence Based Method for Enrichment of Complex DNA Samples – Thomas Kvist, Line Sondt-Marcussen, Marie Just Mikkelsen – PLOS ONE

“The present paper describes a new method, Probability directed Isolation of Nucleic acid Sequences (PINS), for enrichment of DNA, enabling the sequencing of a large DNA region surrounding a small known sequence. “

Metabolomics

Of Monkeys and Men: A Metabolomic Analysis of Static and Dynamic Urinary Metabolic Phenotypes in Two Species – Edoardo Saccenti – PLOS ONE

“we show that despite the standardization of diet as the most relevant extrinsic factor, a clear individual and discriminative metabolic fingerprint also exists for monkeys.”

Science and Career

Diversity: Pride in science – M Mitchell Waldrop – Nature

“The sciences can be a sanctuary for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, but biases may still discourage many from coming out.”

Bik’s Picks

Only 4 of them are women…. – The top 50 science stars of Twitter – Jia You – Science

“Though Hall says he meant his K-index lightheartedly, his article in Genome Biology sparked a Twitter storm of criticism. So just who are the Kardashians of science, and is Hall’s criticism justified?”

Breast milk reveals a correlation between dietary fats and academic success – Science Daily

“You are what you eat, the saying goes, and now a study conducted by researchers at UC Santa Barbara and the University of Pittsburgh suggests that the oft-repeated adage applies not just to physical health but to brain power as well.”

Forensic science solves mystery of Richard III’s death (the parking-lot king) –  Agata Blaszczak-Boxe – CBS News

“More than 500 years after Richard III became the last king of England to die in battle, researchers using modern forensic science have figured out which injuries likely caused his death.”

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