Researchers are using state-of-the-art imaging techniques and collecting data on dietary nutrient intake, feeding practices, and gut microbiota abundance and diversity to elucidate the links between nutrition, the microbiome, and brain maturation processes in early childhood.
Children's Health, Collaboration, Gastroenterology, News, Nutrition, Studies
University of North Carolina scientists found that mucin proteins, which make mucus thick and sticky, fail to unfold properly in the airways of people with cystic fibrosis. And they found the lack of water in the lung can trigger the misfolding mucins.
In a study published in journal Nature Immunology, researchers led by UNC Lineberger member Jenny P.Y. Ting, PhD, describe how inflammation can go unchecked in the absence of a certain inflammation inhibitor called NLRP12. In a harmful feedback loop, this inflammation can upset the balance of bacteria living in the gut. Beneficial bacterial may be the key to reversing inflammation in the absence of this key regulator.
By focusing on small molecules called microRNAs in stem cells of the intestine, UNC School of Medicine researchers have proposed a new mechanism by which gut microbes might help keep us healthy or make us sick.
New research led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and NC State University demonstrates the effectiveness of using prebiotics to change the composition of the gut microbiome of those suffering from lactose intolerance.
UNC scientists led by John Sondek, PhD, created a new biochemical tool to block specific types of downstream G-protein signaling, opening new avenues of research and potential drug design and discovery.
UNC School of Medicine faculty members took on critical roles in amending diagnostic criteria questionnaires for functional GI disorders, which affect millions of people worldwide.
Biomedical engineering student Scott Vu creates a new tool that prompts bacteria to make proteins for various biotech industrial uses.
Scientists from the UNC / NC State joint biomedical engineering department are creating a new kind of research tool that will be nearly indistinguishable from the human gastrointestinal tract.
Studying the ‘gut-brain axis,’ UNC researchers find evidence of an association between the gut microbiota and the eating disorder.
UNC’s part in the study is led by Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik, Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, a Professor of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Founding Director of the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders.
Protecting the gastrointestinal system during chemotherapy or radiation could allow patients to tolerate more aggressive treatments to attack tumors.
