Interactions between diet and the gut microbiome have been shown to have broad roles in shaping host metabolism and health. Now, researchers at the Human Biology Microbiome Quantum Research Center (WPI-Bio2Q, directed by Kenya Honda, M.D., Ph.D., co-senior author of the study) and Keio University, together with researchers from City of Hope and the Broad Institute, show how specific gut microbes are able to interpret diet and subsequently drive the conversion of white adipose tissue into beige fat, a metabolically active form of fat that burns energy instead of storing it.

The study, which has been published in Nature, also identified the molecular pathways that connect these aspects of dietary protein intake, microbial metabolism, and the host’s fat-burning response.

“These findings show, in a mechanistic way, how gut microbes are able to act as an important mediator of dietary cues, and how these bacteria are able to produce signals that shape host metabolism” said Scott Behie, member of WPI-Bio2Q and co-author of the study.

The Primary Health Care Academy (PHCA) in the School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been officially designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Health and Nursing Workforce Development in Primary Health Care. This designation recognises HKU’s leadership in advancing primary health care and strengthening the health and nursing workforce in the Western Pacific Region.

Flinders University are experimenting with plant-based oils to develop a promising new structural keratin-type repair application to reduce breakage and improve hair health.

The latest study, published in ACS Applied Bio Materials (American Chemical Society), demonstrates the potential for a sustainable biopolymer mixture made from a rich tung oil acid emulsion to seal cuticles and increase elasticity and reinforce hair damaged by chemicals or heat.    

Eating large amounts of ultra-processed food (UPF) is linked not only to reduced fertility in men, but also to slower growth in early embryos, and smaller yolk sacs, which are essential for early embryonic development, according to new research published in Human Reproduction.

Microscopic sensors that are as thin as a strand of hair but capable of taking multiple measurements simultaneously could revolutionise the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases like cancer.