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It's Time to Keep Check on the Microbiome

Technology Networks | October 14, 2019

The human body provides a home to microbes of different varieties, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, protists and microscopic animals. The collective sum of these organisms is known as the human microbiome, Over recent years, the human microbiome has garnered increased research attention, and is now dubbed by many scientists as "an organ in its own right", with a plethora of studies outlining its contribution to human health and disease. The microbes inhabiting our bodies can disturb our energy metabolism and immunity, and therefore significantly influence the development of an array of human diseases. However, one element of human microbiome research that has not made headlines is the difficulty that scientists face in analyzing how it changes over time in response to certain stimuli. The most commonly adopted approach to analysis is extracting bacteria from a fecal sample and then sequencing the bacteria's genome. Whilst advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques have bolstered the field of microbiome research, the issue remains in that crucial information is lost about where and when bacterial changes actually occur in the gut. The picture is incomplete. In a new study published in Nature Communications, scientists have developed a novel approach that they hope will help to overcome these issues and complete the full picture of the human microbiome physiology. Their solution comes in the form of an oscillating gene circuit containing a distinct set of engineered bacterial genes. These genes have been designed to detect and record changes in the growth of different bacterial populations in the guts of living mice with single cell precision.

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15 interesting facts about Coffee and Caffeine

We love coffee. It helps us start our day. It is usually the first drink we drink in the morning, and we will probably take a few coffee breaks to get us through the day. You can hardly pass a full day without mentioning coffee in a conversation or drinking it. In fact, on average you will probably consume 3 cups of coffee in a day. Coffee brings us together, helps us connect and catch up with colleagues and old friends. We link it to pleasure, and we are so used to its presence in our lives that we hardly stop to think how much do we really know about it. So here are 15 fascinating facts about this brown beverage that will surprise you.

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Spotlight

15 interesting facts about Coffee and Caffeine

We love coffee. It helps us start our day. It is usually the first drink we drink in the morning, and we will probably take a few coffee breaks to get us through the day. You can hardly pass a full day without mentioning coffee in a conversation or drinking it. In fact, on average you will probably consume 3 cups of coffee in a day. Coffee brings us together, helps us connect and catch up with colleagues and old friends. We link it to pleasure, and we are so used to its presence in our lives that we hardly stop to think how much do we really know about it. So here are 15 fascinating facts about this brown beverage that will surprise you.

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