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From the College of Natural Sciences
Compared with Apes, People’s Gut Bacteria Lack Diversity, Study Finds

Compared with Apes, People’s Gut Bacteria Lack Diversity, Study Finds

image.jpgThe microbes living in people’s guts are much less diverse than those in humans' closest relatives, the African apes, an apparently long evolutionary trend that appears to be speeding up in more modern societies, with possible implications for human health, according to a new study.

As Ebola Kills Some, It May Be Quietly Immunizing Others

As Ebola Kills Some, It May Be Quietly Immunizing Others

Ebola virus

As Ebola continues to spread in West Africa, it may be silently immunizing large numbers of people who never fall ill or infect others, yet become protected from future infection. If such immunity is confirmed, it would have significant ramifications on projections of how widespread the disease will be and could help determine strategies that health workers use to contain the disease, according to a letter published Tuesday in the Lancet medical journal.

Scientists Develop Ebola Vaccine

Scientists Develop Ebola Vaccine

Since 2007, Maria Croyle and her colleageus have been developing a vaccine for the Ebola virus. The oral vaccine has been shown effective in rodents and primates and may soon be ready for human clinical trials. Croyle is a professor in the College of Pharmacy and member of the College of Natural Sciences' Center for Infectious Disease and Inst...
Mouth Bacteria Can Change Its Diet, Supercomputers Reveal

Mouth Bacteria Can Change Its Diet, Supercomputers Reveal

The following excerpt is from an article and podcast by Jorge Salazar, published August 12, 2014 on the TACC website:

Mars-Venus Effect on Gut Microbes

Mars-Venus Effect on Gut Microbes

Daniel Bolnick, professor of integrative biology, and his colleagues have shown that men and women's gut microbes are different, even when they eat the same diet. Several outlets reported on the findings on July 30: The Calcutta Telegraph: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140730/jsp/nation/story_18667828.jsp Medical Daily: http://www.medicaldaily.co...
Diet Affects Men's and Women's Gut Microbes Differently

Diet Affects Men's and Women's Gut Microbes Differently

gut_microbes-Rectangle700x420.jpgThe microbes living in the guts of males and females react differently to diet, even when the diets are identical, according to a study by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and six other institutions published this week in the journal Nature Communications. These results suggest that therapies designed to improve human health and treat diseases through nutrition might need to be tailored for each sex.

You Probably Ate Fungus Today

You Probably Ate Fungus Today

That salad you had for lunch. Yeah, it had fungi in it.

That celery stick you barely nibbled that came with your basket of wings last night. It had fungi in it too.

Variety in Diet Can Hamper Microbial Diversity in the Gut

Variety in Diet Can Hamper Microbial Diversity in the Gut

Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have discovered that the more diverse the diet of a fish, the less diverse are the microbes living in its gut. If the effect is confirmed in humans, it could mean that the combinations of foods people eat can influence the diversity of their gut microbes.

How do you move 100,000 bees from Connecticut to Texas in August?

How do you move 100,000 bees from Connecticut to Texas in August?

Nancy Moran and her students moved 100,000 bees from Connecticut to Texas in a minivan ... in August. To keep the bees from overheating, they kept the AC cranked to the max during the day and left the windows down at night. "It seemed unlikely that anyone would try to steal something from a van full of bees," says Moran. As part of the Behind the ...
Trapping a Bacterium in a Laser Beam Aids Study of Biofilms

Trapping a Bacterium in a Laser Beam Aids Study of Biofilms

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a technique to move and position a single bacterium using a highly focused laser. The precise control offered by this tool will allow researchers to better study how bacterial biofilms form.