Links to popular articles, blog posts, etc. about the human microbiota
EPISODE 54: HACKING THE GUT MICROBIOME an interview with Les by Dr. Dan Stickler of ePhysiologix.
What's in My Gut? an interview with Les by Ernesto Ramirez (from Quantified Self) regarding the human microbiota and data access.
Sweet Peach Probiotics, a company that aims to tailor probiotics for the specific needs of a specific woman's vaginal microbiota.
Sawbones: Enemas and Cleanses Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy explore the history of enemas and cleanses.
Animal Pharm Podcast, a podcast by Dr. Grace regarding resistant starch.
Science AMA Series: I'm Dr. Les Dethlefsen, staff scientist in the Relman Lab at Stanford University. I study the microbiota of the human gut, focusing on how it varies over time, and on what happens when it's disturbed when we take antibiotics or change our diet. AMA!, an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session by Les.
'The Skinny on Probiotics', a podcast by Stuff You Should Know about probiotics and its affects on the gut flora.
Fecal Transplants: You Gonna Drink that Poop?, a podcast by Stuff You Should Know that explores the topic of fecal transplants.
'How the Human Microbiome Project Works', another podcast by Stuff You Should Know that lays out the fascinating landscape of microbiota research.
'Germs are us', an excellent general introduction by Michael Specter that appeared in the New Yorker.
'Me, myself, us', another outstanding general introduction that appeared in The Economist.
Michael Pollan's story in the NYTimes Magazine about getting his microbiome analyzed.
Moises Velasquez-Manoff is a journalist who's been focused on the connections between the gut microbiota and inflammation,
here's an article of his focused on allergies from the NYTimes,
and another focused on obesity from Mother Jones magazine.
He also has a book on this topic, An Epidemic of Absence.
There is no 'Healthy' Microbiome, an article by Ed Yong (author of Not Exactly Rocket Science blog at NatGeo) in the Sunday NYTimes covering why we can't say one particular composition of the gut microbiota is best.
'The E. coli made me do it' by James Rosenbaum, from the New Yorker, focusing on mood and behavior effects of the microbiota.
Carl Zimmer's piece (author of The Loom blog at NatGeo) in the NYTimes following publication of the first batch of results from the NIH Human Microbiome Project.
A blog post by Ed Yong (Not Exactly Rocket Science at National Geographic) about a study demonstrating the interaction of the gut microbiota with diet in kwashiorkor, a serious malnourishment disease. Here's commentary by my boss, David Relman, about the same study.
A connection between obesity and liver cancer is mediated by the gut microbiota, from The Economist. While this is interesting in itself, it may be even more important as an example of how microbes can be involved in mammalian physiology in unexpected ways (both good and bad).
Similarly, there is a connection between eating red meat and heart disease that is is mediated by the gut microbiota, explained here by Gina Kolata of the NYTimes. It's unclear how much of the oft-reported link between red meat consumption and heart disease might be due to the microbial transformation of carnitine into a damaging chemical called TMAO, compared to the more traditional culprits like saturated fat and cholesterol.
There's a whole series on NPR about the human microbiota (mostly by Rob Stein); some of my favorite bits are:
a cartoon introduction to the human microbiota
native microbes are good for your health
summary of findings from the NIH Human Microbiome Project
relationship between gut microbes and obesity
microbial transmission to babies influences their risk of allergies
gut microbes interact with diet to affect heart disease risk
microbial effects on mood and behavior
fecal microbiota transplants
controlling the gut microbiota through diet
issues surrounding microbiome analysis
Bugs 'R Us, a 50 minute public lecture by Professor Brett Finlay of the University of British Columbia. The first half is mostly pathogen-focused, including a nice historical perspective of the science of microbiology. He then describes several important effects of the native human microbiota on health, although I think in some places he oversimplifies to the point of being a bit misleading.
Finally, here are two online digests of microbiota-related articles that are more comprehensive and more frequently updated than this page:
The Microbiome Digest is a blog updated almost daily by Dr. Elies Bik (a labmate in the Relman lab) that covers the human microbiota and other microbiome/microbiology related topics. While it is oriented more towards articles in scientific journals, it includes many articles written for the general public as well.
Gut Microbiota Worldwatch is a website run by the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. The News page gives short summaries of notable recent scientific findings about the gut microbiota, and the In the Media page has links to articles in the popular press.
What's in My Gut? an interview with Les by Ernesto Ramirez (from Quantified Self) regarding the human microbiota and data access.
Sweet Peach Probiotics, a company that aims to tailor probiotics for the specific needs of a specific woman's vaginal microbiota.
Sawbones: Enemas and Cleanses Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy explore the history of enemas and cleanses.
Animal Pharm Podcast, a podcast by Dr. Grace regarding resistant starch.
Science AMA Series: I'm Dr. Les Dethlefsen, staff scientist in the Relman Lab at Stanford University. I study the microbiota of the human gut, focusing on how it varies over time, and on what happens when it's disturbed when we take antibiotics or change our diet. AMA!, an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session by Les.
'The Skinny on Probiotics', a podcast by Stuff You Should Know about probiotics and its affects on the gut flora.
Fecal Transplants: You Gonna Drink that Poop?, a podcast by Stuff You Should Know that explores the topic of fecal transplants.
'How the Human Microbiome Project Works', another podcast by Stuff You Should Know that lays out the fascinating landscape of microbiota research.
'Germs are us', an excellent general introduction by Michael Specter that appeared in the New Yorker.
'Me, myself, us', another outstanding general introduction that appeared in The Economist.
Michael Pollan's story in the NYTimes Magazine about getting his microbiome analyzed.
Moises Velasquez-Manoff is a journalist who's been focused on the connections between the gut microbiota and inflammation,
here's an article of his focused on allergies from the NYTimes,
and another focused on obesity from Mother Jones magazine.
He also has a book on this topic, An Epidemic of Absence.
There is no 'Healthy' Microbiome, an article by Ed Yong (author of Not Exactly Rocket Science blog at NatGeo) in the Sunday NYTimes covering why we can't say one particular composition of the gut microbiota is best.
'The E. coli made me do it' by James Rosenbaum, from the New Yorker, focusing on mood and behavior effects of the microbiota.
Carl Zimmer's piece (author of The Loom blog at NatGeo) in the NYTimes following publication of the first batch of results from the NIH Human Microbiome Project.
A blog post by Ed Yong (Not Exactly Rocket Science at National Geographic) about a study demonstrating the interaction of the gut microbiota with diet in kwashiorkor, a serious malnourishment disease. Here's commentary by my boss, David Relman, about the same study.
A connection between obesity and liver cancer is mediated by the gut microbiota, from The Economist. While this is interesting in itself, it may be even more important as an example of how microbes can be involved in mammalian physiology in unexpected ways (both good and bad).
Similarly, there is a connection between eating red meat and heart disease that is is mediated by the gut microbiota, explained here by Gina Kolata of the NYTimes. It's unclear how much of the oft-reported link between red meat consumption and heart disease might be due to the microbial transformation of carnitine into a damaging chemical called TMAO, compared to the more traditional culprits like saturated fat and cholesterol.
There's a whole series on NPR about the human microbiota (mostly by Rob Stein); some of my favorite bits are:
a cartoon introduction to the human microbiota
native microbes are good for your health
summary of findings from the NIH Human Microbiome Project
relationship between gut microbes and obesity
microbial transmission to babies influences their risk of allergies
gut microbes interact with diet to affect heart disease risk
microbial effects on mood and behavior
fecal microbiota transplants
controlling the gut microbiota through diet
issues surrounding microbiome analysis
Bugs 'R Us, a 50 minute public lecture by Professor Brett Finlay of the University of British Columbia. The first half is mostly pathogen-focused, including a nice historical perspective of the science of microbiology. He then describes several important effects of the native human microbiota on health, although I think in some places he oversimplifies to the point of being a bit misleading.
Finally, here are two online digests of microbiota-related articles that are more comprehensive and more frequently updated than this page:
The Microbiome Digest is a blog updated almost daily by Dr. Elies Bik (a labmate in the Relman lab) that covers the human microbiota and other microbiome/microbiology related topics. While it is oriented more towards articles in scientific journals, it includes many articles written for the general public as well.
Gut Microbiota Worldwatch is a website run by the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. The News page gives short summaries of notable recent scientific findings about the gut microbiota, and the In the Media page has links to articles in the popular press.