Word: miceli
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...team of Harvard bioengineers and biologists say that they have developed a cancer vaccine that eradicates melanoma tumors in mice and slows their reoccurrence...
...single gene injected into the monkeys was coded for the naturally occurring protein follistatin, which blocks the function of another protein called myostatin that hinders muscle growth. Past research in mice that were genetically engineered to have an extra copy of the follistatin-producing gene has shown that blocking myostatin, by increasing follistatin, causes muscles to bulk up fast. What Kaspar and his team found was that the same effect could be achieved simply by injecting genes - ferried aboard a small, non-disease-causing virus known as AAV, or adeno-associated virus - into the muscle. They further discovered that once...
...fact that the human gut flora flourished in the rodents was indeed an experimental coup. Since the mice were genetically engineered to be germ-free, lacking a functioning immune system, the scientists could be certain that any bug colonies that took hold in the mouse guts originated entirely from the human sample, not the mice. Being able to recreate the living human gut environment so faithfully in an animal was a welcome prize. (Read "The Year in Medicine 2008: From...
That diversity and its impact came into plain view when the researchers started experimenting with the rodents' diet. When one group of mice was fed a typical Western diet, high in fat and sugars, they tended to gain weight and grow more Firmicutes gut bacteria and fewer Bacteroidetes. In mice given a low-fat plant-based chow, the distribution of the two groups of bugs flipped and the animals remained lean. It's not clear whether the balance of gut bugs causes weight gain or is a result of it, but the findings suggest that a "gut profile" could potentially...
...leanness profile - a vital-stats sheet of the gut world that would help people understand how their bodies are likely to respond to calories. Beyond that, the possibilities are even more exciting. With more research, Gordon sees potential even for applying to agriculture the knowledge gained from these mice - we could grow more foods that are specifically designed to provide the optimal balance of nutrients and energy for various life stages. "This vast universe of microbes that live on and in us is terra incognita, but it is becoming more cognita every day," he says. "We are beginning to develop...