How the human microbiome impacts health and disease

The human microbiome has been widely reported to have a direct link to health and the development of disease and is a rapidly evolving field of study.

The community of microbes within the body has unique metabolic processes, and the metabolites they produce are thought to be the key to their interaction with, and their effect on, the body. Considerable research effort is currently focused on understanding the human microbiome in the context of health outcomes, in parallel with improving our knowledge of microbiome–host molecular interactions. The relationships between the microbiome and several human diseases are being intensively studied for conditions that include colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and immunologically mediated skin diseases. These efforts aim to develop effective approaches to rehabilitate perturbed human microbial ecosystems as a means to restore health and prevent disease.

In this special feature, we explore some of the latest research aimed at improving our understanding of the human microbiome and its impact on human health and outline the technology designed to accelerate microbiome research.

1. Identify infectious agents in complex human samples using the power of mNGS

In this on-demand webinar, discover how human DNA depletion by MolYsis^™ can help overcome limitations in using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for the identification of infectious agents.

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2. Microbiome research benefits from breath biomarker analysis

Explore how exhaled breath analysis can offer a powerful complementary platform to study the impact of the microbiome on health and disease development.

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3. Microbiome Connect speaker spotlight highlights the benefits of phage therapy

In this video, Amanda Burkardt, CEO at Phiogen, discusses the main benefits of phage therapy (the therapeutic use of viruses for the treatment of bacterial infections), emerging modalities in the microbiome world, and shares a sneak peek into what will be covered in Phiogen's session at Microbiome Connect: USA 2023.

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4. The power of gut microbiota to enhance women’s health

Research has shined a light on the replication of beneficial gut microbiota in aiding and researching infant and women’s health. In this article, discover how Seward Stomacher^® lab blenders are aiding in this type of gut microbiota research.

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Further resources to enhance your microbiome research

• Microbioreactors: This application eBook presents a guide on how to tackle bottlenecks in microbial research using a novel microbioreactor – designed to ensure you generate the best and most reliable results quickly.
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• DNA extraction: This application eBook presents a guide on how to effectively extract DNA, explores antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment plants, and illustrates how high-throughput sequencing can help accurately detect helminth infections. Download eBook >>

• Antimicrobial susceptibility testing: In this video, Dr. Jennifer Dougan shares how the LiquidArray^® Gastrointestinal panel from Bruker provides gastrointestinal pathogen detection results at a glance and enables clinicians to report results with confidence. Watch video >>

• High-throughput screening: In this video, Marina Papaiakovou, University of Cambridge, discusses her research developing and optimizing qPCR-based diagnostics for helminth infections, and reveals how high-throughput sequencing methods are helping her understand helminth infections and their interactions with the gut microbiota. Watch video >>

• Antimicrobial resistance: In this presentation, Dr. Jose Alexander, AdventHealth, discusses strategies against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that include rapid diagnostic and actionable data collection, the importance of effective communication, and the need for a clear definition of multiple drug resistance (MDR). Watch video >>

Read reviews on technology advancing microbiome research

Find out what researchers around the world are saying about the products they use, including Mariana Zaharia, of Antibiotice, who shared her thoughts on the Allegra V-15R Benchtop Centrifuge from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences:

"The centrifuge is versatile in our fermentation research laboratory, for optimizing the processes of microbial separation from the culture liquid, separating the extracts from the cellular debris, purifying the extract, separating the crystals, washing the crystals, etc. The microcentrifuge enables simple centrifugation by providing stable operation even at maximum speed. It fits easily in the space in the lab."

Ease of use: 5/5

After sales service: 5/5

Value for money: 4/5

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