Your skin's microbiome could use a break from soap and cosmetics, Dr. James Hamblin says. He ditched bathing for five years to harness the power of "good" microbes.
Researchers identified a strain of bacteria that flourishes in the guts of athletes after exercise. When transferred to mice, it gave a big boost in endurance. Could runners' probiotics be on the way?
Researchers think genetically engineered versions of microbes that can live in humans could help treat some rare genetic disorders and perhaps help with Type 1 diabetes, cirrhosis and cancer.
The foods we put in our bodies affect the kinds of bacteria that live and flourish there. A new book explores this collaboration — and the cultures whose dishes maximize the relationship.
Giving probiotics to children with gastroenteritis didn't help reduce diarrhea and vomiting, according to the findings of two clinical trials designed to test the popular products.
Ecologist Rob Dunn's new book describes the tiny life forms, helpful and risky, that live in different parts of the home, including on floors and in water faucets, basements and heating systems.
Hmong immigrants began losing native bacteria in their guts soon after arriving in the U.S., a change associated with more obesity. Eating an American diet plays a role but doesn't explain everything.
After a C-section, does swabbing a baby with the mother's microbes reduce the risk of obesity and other health problems later in life? An ambitious study to help answer the question is underway.
Scientists are learning more about how our gut microbes may influence dieting. A small new study finds successful dieters have a different mix of bacteria than less-successful dieters.
Sales of probiotics are soaring. While some studies on this beneficial bacteria show it can treat specific health issues in children, scientists are exploring how it may help gut health more broadly.
Microbe-free bovine life would be rough. Cows rely on single-cell accomplices for their digestion, so scientists are looking for ways to use these bugs to improve cows' eating and burping habits.
The electronic pill looks like the biggest multivitamin a human could possibly swallow. Tests have show that the experimental device can measure gases tied to microbes and digestion.
Many marketing claims about the potential benefits of probiotics have raced ahead of the science, say researchers who are now trying to catch up. One NIH study is investigating kids' gut microbes.
As the popularity of sour beers burgeons in America, scientists are going back to the drawing board in a quest to discover the perfect mix of new brewing microbes.
Some species of bacteria in our intestines are disappearing. Can we reverse the microbial die-off? The food eaten by Tanzania's Hadza tribe could hold the answer.
Home bakers in the U.S., Europe and some other countries have volunteered their sourdough starters to a team of American scientists who want to unravel the microbial secrets of sourdough.
When medication wasn't relieving her 3-year-old son's juvenile arthritis, Susannah Meadows started investigating non-medical treatments like diet and supplements.
Brandie Jefferson volunteered for a clinical trial to see if intermittent fasting can help treat multiple sclerosis. Five months in, she realizes that this study won't answer that question.
Meet Kate Rubins, a virus-hunter turned astronaut. When she sequenced DNA in space for the first time, she opened the door to a new era in space biology.
I'm fasting intermittently as part of a research study, to see if changing my gut microbiome affects my multiple sclerosis. But maybe living on Peanut Chews isn't the best strategy.
I like to eat, often and a lot. But when I heard about a medical study looking at whether fasting might tame the painful symptoms of MS, I was all in. Then I ate that 7 a.m. bagel.
Think of it as a gift within a gift. Some beneficial gut bacteria contain viruses called "bacteriophages." And some of these phages now have been associated with good intestinal health in humans.
Science writer Ed Yong talks about his new book, which looks at diet and the microbiome and whether poop transplants and probiotics are all they're cracked up to be.
