For the first time, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified patterns of metabolites in blood and urine that can be used as an objective measure of an individual’s consumption of energy from ultra-processed foods. Metabolites are left after the body converts food into energy, a process known as metabolism. Scientists used these data to develop a score based on multiple metabolites, known as a poly-metabolite score, that has the potential to reduce the reliance on, or complement the use of, self-reported dietary data in large population studies. The findings appeared May 20, 2025, in PLOS Medicine.   

Chemotherapy doesn’t just kill cancer cells. It also affects the microbes in the digestive tract. 

Researchers at UC San Francisco have discovered that some gut bacteria can reduce the side effects of these potent treatments, and that one family of cancer drugs may actually boost these protective bacteria.