New research helps explain how steatotic liver disease can appear in babies — and the role early nutrition may play.

In a new study published in Nature Communications Biology, Houston Methodist researchers led by Sonia Villapol, Ph.D., found that short-term antibiotic treatment significantly reduced neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by altering the gut microbiome in animal models. The study found that two helpful bacteria, Parasutterella excrementihominis and Lactobacillus johnsonii, are key to driving cell repair. According to Villapol, they could also be major regulators for peripheral inflammation in the body.

Scientists have published a review of what they’ve learned about moths and butterflies over the last few decades, with special attention given to pivotal moments that occurred during their ~300 million-year history.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo developed a platform that enables intraluminal inflation of human lung organoids, allowing quantitative measurement of lung compliance and modeling of lung stiffening diseases.

Within the framework of the INMA project, which studies the impact of environmental pollutants on pregnancy and child development, researchers analysed the concentrations of chemicals known as PFAS measured in the mother's blood, and the onset of puberty in girls and boys. The study showed that certain types of PFAS may be slightly associated with the early or late onset of some pubertal characteristics.

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a gene therapy that could potentially treat a rare and currently fatal muscle disease in children. The study shows in animal models that a single treatment is sufficient to stabilize muscles and nerves and to halt disease progression. The challenge now is to bring this promising therapy into the clinic.

The powerhouse of the cells – known as mitochondria – appear to be able to influence the number of lipid droplets in the cell. A mechanism that is actually intended for a completely different purpose plays a central role in this. This is shown by a recent study by the University of Bonn and University Hospital Bonn and the University of Freiburg. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.