Now that I no longer have access to academic papers at whim, I am starting to understand the frustration of those advocating for open access. But I still have my ways, and came across an exciting new story on the gut microbiota in Cell Host Microbe.
If you haven't heard, the gut microbiota (ie the bacteria that naturally live in our gut) is one of the most exciting topics in biology at the moment. In the past decade, it has become clear that we are in fact a 'superorganism', as it is both our genes and the genes of the bacteria that live within us that shape who we are. We are slowly uncovering the numerous roles the gut microbiota has, from regulating the responses of our immune system to controlling the development of our blood vessels, our metabolism and even our behaviour. If you are interested and have access, here is an excellent review and a viewpoint article on the topic (ahem, commissioned by me during my Nature Reviews Microbiology days).
And now a study has shown that the gut microbiota doesn't just shape our immune responses, it actually regulates the production of the immune cells that fight pathogens.
If you haven't heard, the gut microbiota (ie the bacteria that naturally live in our gut) is one of the most exciting topics in biology at the moment. In the past decade, it has become clear that we are in fact a 'superorganism', as it is both our genes and the genes of the bacteria that live within us that shape who we are. We are slowly uncovering the numerous roles the gut microbiota has, from regulating the responses of our immune system to controlling the development of our blood vessels, our metabolism and even our behaviour. If you are interested and have access, here is an excellent review and a viewpoint article on the topic (ahem, commissioned by me during my Nature Reviews Microbiology days).
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| 3D model of intestinal cells colonised with gut bacteria. Image from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory obtained on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/pnnl/8146322408) |
And now a study has shown that the gut microbiota doesn't just shape our immune responses, it actually regulates the production of the immune cells that fight pathogens.
