A team of researchers for the first time has found a correlation between the levels of bacteria and fungi in the gastrointestinal tract of children and the amount of common chemicals found in their home environment.
A team of researchers for the first time has found a correlation between the levels of bacteria and fungi in the gastrointestinal tract of children and the amount of common chemicals found in their home environment.
The work, published this month in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, could lead to better understanding of how these semi-volatile organic compounds may affect human health.
Courtney Gardner, assistant professor in the Washington State University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is lead author on the paper, which she completed as a postdoctoral researcher in collaboration with Duke University.
The gut microbiome, the community of microbes that live in our intestinal tract, has become of increasing interest to researchers in recent years. The microbes in our gut, which include a large variety of bacteria and fungi, are thought to affect many processes, from nutrient absorption to our immunity, and an unhealthy microbiome has been implicated in diseases ranging from obesity to asthma and dementia.
Read more at Washington State University
Image: Courtney Gardner, assistant professor in the Washington State University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is lead author on the paper, which she completed as a postdoctoral researcher in collaboration with Duke University. (Credit: WSU)
