Diet drinks that contain non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) have been around for more than 60 years. Since the dawn of the diet drink introduction to the market, a fizzing debate began; do the sweeteners, including aspartame, saccharine, sucralose and stevia, do more harm than good? Are they just innocent satisfiers of our urge to consume sweets...
Over the last decade, the field of metagenomics has grown extensively, leading to an exponential increase in sequencing data in public data repositories. Availability of this huge collection of data has accelerated the discovery of novel microbiome-related biomarkers and microbiome-based novel biomedical therapeutics. One of the key steps in identifying potential biomarkers or lead candidates...
The oral microbiome is second to the gut microbiome in human microbiome complexity partly due to its constant exposure to inhaled and ingested microbes. There are estimated to be more than 700 microbial species in the oral cavity and 54% of these microbes are uncultivable. As such, elucidating the metabolic functions of the uncultivable oral...
Plastic particles < 5 mm are classified as microplastics. Microplastics are present in almost all aquatic ecosystems, from the Arctic to the deep ocean. Moreover, microplastics can migrate between different aquatic environments, such as lakes, seas and oceans. This environmental problem becomes a health concern when the microplastics enter into a new aquatic ecosystem where...
Introduction The advent of metagenomic sequencing has led to significant advancements in our understanding of the microbiome in a wide variety of contexts, from the human body1 to farm animals2,3, soil, and marine environments4. Each unique environment provides its own set of challenges in accurate microbial identification, including low microbial biomass in ocean samples, PCR...
Every day somebody loses a loved one. Bereavement is often accompanied by stress, health decline, less energy, problems in eating, an upset belly, and more. A recent piece in Time magazine suggests that grief affecting the gut microbiome may be the culprit. To start with, stress may activate the sympathetic nervous system to induce a...
By Barış Özdinç Dogs have been man’s best friend for centuries — and continue to be popular pets today. According to the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey, 53.4% of American households own a dog. People treat their dogs like family members, including looking after and investigating ways in which to improve...
Mobile phones have become essential to modern-day living; they are the main communication device for two-thirds of the human population (Kemp 2020). People handle their mobile phones up to 2000 times per day, which can total up to 3h and 37 minutes (Winnick 2016). Consequently, mobile phones have emerged as a fomite that could play...
By Baris Ozdinc A recent article in Smithsonian Magazine highlights the impact of sunken shipwrecks on the local marine ecosystem, including microbial communities. Shipwrecks bring alien nutrients to the seafloor and, in some cases, contaminate it with chemicals. Sunken shipwrecks could leak oil, benzol or benzene for years, carry heavy metals such as lead and...
Written by Nayeim Khan The process of sequencing determines the DNA or RNA nucleotide bases within a sample. A sequence, also referred to as a read, is generated for each fragment in the nucleotide library and reveals the sequence they are aligned in. Modern sequencing technologies can generate a massive number of sequence reads in a single...
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