Study identifies novel mechanism for tissue repair in wake of cell death
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 3-Sep-2025 12:11 ET (3-Sep-2025 16:11 GMT/UTC)
Researchers have shed new light on how tissues in the body are repaired following the damage and premature death of tissue cells.
The pathogen C. diff — the most common cause of health care-associated infectious diarrhea — can use a compound that kills the human gut’s resident microbes to survive and grow, giving it a competitive advantage in the infected gut.
A team led by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has discovered how C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) converts the poisonous compound 4-thiouracil, which could come from foods like broccoli, into a usable nutrient. Their findings, published March 25 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, increase understanding of the molecular drivers of C. diff infection and point to novel therapeutic strategies.
New research suggests that when hungry, people focus more on the tastiness of food and tend to ignore nutritional information, which may contribute to poor dietary decisions.