#Obesity & Weight (26)
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Fecal microbiota transplant linked to reduced neurotoxicity via gut-brain axis
Quick fact: Fecal microbiota transplantation—transferring gut microbes from a healthy donor to a recipient—shows promise in animal studies and human trials for reducing neurotoxic damage linked to drugs, pollutants, infections, and metabolic disorders by restoring microbial balance and calming brain inflammation.
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GLP-1 and Appetite: How Weight-Loss Drugs Rewire the Brain
GLP-1 drugs suppress appetite through brain pathways that control reward and satiety—effects extending beyond blood sugar to food cravings, gastric emptying, and even addictive behaviors.
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Bacteriophage Engineering: Precision Targeting of Gut Bacteria Enters Clinical Development
Surprising finding: Scientists are now redesigning viruses that naturally attack bacteria—called bacteriophages—to target harmful gut microbes with sniper-like precision, offering a potential alternative to broad-spectrum antibiotics that disrupt the entire intestinal ecosystem.
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Gut-Brain Axis in Colorectal Cancer: Cancer Cells Signal the Brain to Alter Tumor Growth
Did you know? Colorectal cancer cells can release molecules that influence brain circuits, while gut microbes send signals back that may affect how tumors grow and evade the immune system.
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Shrimp Immunity Linked to Gut Bacteria Shifts from Diet Boosters
Quick fact: Different dietary supplements change shrimp gut bacteria in unique ways, with some increasing beneficial microbes by measurable amounts while reducing potential pathogens—a finding that could reshape how aquaculture farms protect their stock.
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Your Gut Bacteria May Influence Brain Inflammation
Surprising finding: The trillions of microbes in your gut can influence brain inflammation through pathways ranging from vagus nerve signals to immune cells that migrate directly from gut to brain.
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Gut Microbes Shape Life-or-Death Outcomes After Stem Cell Transplants
Surprising finding: The trillions of microbes in your gut harbor more than 100 times the genetic material of your entire human genome—and after a stem cell transplant, these microbes may determine whether donor immune cells attack your body or leave it alone.
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Your Shellfish's Gut Microbes Depend on Where—and Who—They Are
Quick fact: A review of 85 studies found that mollusk microbiomes are shaped by both where the animal lives and its evolutionary family tree—but which matters more depends entirely on whether you're studying a clam, snail, or squid.
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How Gut Worms Shape Battles Between Good and Bad Bacteria
Did you know? Parasitic worms in your gut can actually help fight off harmful bacteria by reshaping your immune system and supporting protective microbes.
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Ghana's Mixed Progress on Health Goals: What's Working and What's Not
Quick fact: Ghana has significantly reduced childhood obesity while making strides in infectious disease control, yet maternal health and mental health services still face major gaps according to a 2026 review of the country's sustainable development progress.
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Brain receptor TAAR1 may link gut microbes to schizophrenia
Quick fact: A receptor in brain cells that responds to molecules produced by gut bacteria may help explain the connection between microbiome changes and schizophrenia symptoms.
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How Anhedonia May Shape Eating Patterns Across Conditions
Surprising finding: People who struggle to feel pleasure (anhedonia) often show distinct eating patterns, from obesity to eating disorders, suggesting our brain's reward system directly influences what and how we eat.
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Your Gut Bacteria May Be Brewing Alcohol That Harms Your Liver
Quick fact: Your gut microbes can ferment dietary sugars into ethanol right inside your intestines — and this internal alcohol production may contribute to fatty liver disease.
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After-Meal Inflammation in Obesity Shaped by Diet and Gut Health
Quick fact: People spend most of their day in a 'postprandial' state — the hours after eating — when obesity-related inflammation peaks due to interactions between gut bacteria, fat tissue, and what's on the plate.
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Five Hidden Factors Linked to Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Surprising finding: Beyond diet and exercise, five biological factors—mitochondrial dysfunction, obesity, gut microbiota changes, oxidative stress, and inflammation—are now recognized as key contributors to type 2 diabetes development.
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Astragalus Polysaccharides Linked to Multiple Obesity Pathways
Did you know? A compound from the traditional herb Astragalus shows connections to gut bacteria balance, inflammation reduction, and metabolic changes in obesity research, though clinical proof in humans remains limited.
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GLP-1 and Appetite: How Weight-Loss Drugs Rewire Cravings for Food, Alcohol, and Drugs
Surprising finding: Medications designed for weight loss, including semaglutide and liraglutide, are being linked to reduced cravings for alcohol and drugs, suggesting they may affect reward-seeking behavior more broadly than just food intake.
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Gut Bacteria May Play Central Role in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Did you know? The trillions of microbes in your gut may influence whether you develop rheumatoid arthritis and how severe your symptoms become, according to emerging research on the microbiota-immune connection.
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Europe Reshapes Rules for Microbiome Therapies in 2025
Quick fact: Europe just overhauled its regulatory framework to accommodate a new wave of therapies that work by modifying the trillions of microbes living in and on our bodies.
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Two Types of Microbes Break Down Nitrous Oxide Differently
Surprising finding: Scientists recently discovered a second major family of microbes that consume nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO₂—and these two groups appear to work best under very different environmental conditions.
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Bariatric Surgery Reshapes Gut Microbes, Not Just Body Size
Quick fact: Weight-loss surgery doesn't just reduce stomach size—it fundamentally reshapes the trillions of bacteria living in your gut, creating a new microbial environment that may help explain why these procedures work so well.
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Your Gut Microbes May Influence Heart Damage During Sepsis
Surprising finding: The bacteria in your gut don't just affect digestion—they may play a critical role in heart damage during life-threatening infections, and heart medications can change your gut microbes in return.
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How Obesity May Trigger Brain Inflammation and Decline
Surprising finding: Obesity doesn't just affect your waistline—excess fat storage triggers immune responses that release inflammatory molecules into the bloodstream, which can travel to the brain and potentially contribute to cognitive decline similar to what's seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
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Bacterial Warfare in Your Gut: How Microbes Battle for Space
Quick fact: The trillions of bacteria living in your gut don't just coexist peacefully—they wage constant microscopic warfare using chemical weapons and resource theft to outcompete their neighbors.
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Microplastics in Mountain Farms May Reshape Soil Life
Surprising finding: Tiny plastic particles in high-altitude farmland are changing how soil microbes function and potentially entering the food chain through crops grown in cold mountain soils.
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Gut Microbes May Alter How Bodies Handle Arsenic and Blood Sugar
Surprising finding: The bacteria living in your gut don't just digest food—they also transform arsenic in ways that may influence your risk of developing diabetes.