Judy Keen, Ph.D.

Companion papers were published in Science magazine this week that show the bacteria in the gut can influence the development of allergic responses. These papers are fascinating. Done in germ-free mice, these studies show that the microbiota that reside in your colon can influence the type of immune cells (specifically increasing the T regulatory cells and decreasing T helper 17 cells) that also live in that area. So, why does... Read More

An new study was published recently in Nature Communications that looks at the connection between (or correlation of) low dose, early-life antibiotic exposure and obesity later in life. This work was done in mice, however it seems that exposure to two different types of antibiotics can change the bacteria (microbiotics) found in the gut. Click here for commentary. For several years, scientist have been looking at the connection between the... Read More