The Emerging Market of the Human Microbiome
Posted 19th January 2018 by Laura Berry
The human microbiome is an area of life sciences that is gaining traction in the venture capital community. According to the Wall Street Journal, venture capital investment in microbiome companies rose 458.5 percent to 114.5 million U.S. dollars during the period from 2011 – 2015.
Ask not “what your gut microbiome can do for you”, but “what you can do for your gut microbiome”
Posted 27th December 2017 by Laura Berry
Defined health outcomes are increasingly being linked to prebiotic ingredients and supplements. For example, mounting evidence recently led the FDA to issue a qualified health claim regarding the ability of digestion resistant starch to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. With the direct annual cost of diabetes recently estimated to be $825B (1), the potential application of prebiotics to reduce disease risk is appealing from both health care and business investment perspectives.
The Best Microbiome Articles of 2017
Posted 18th December 2017 by Laura Berry
2017 has been another big year for microbiome research. Not only is funding at an all-time high but the shift from 16S to whole-genome sequencing means that we are able to deduce the role it plays in health more effectively.
The Case and Need for a Digital Health Ecosystem
Posted 6th December 2017 by Laura Berry
The current healthcare climate is on the brink of a long overdue makeover. The clinical research industry has been increasingly plagued by a resistance to change and is subsequently feeling the pain of this reluctance to modify its approach. Indicative of this trend are the rising prices of drug and medical device development, declining patient retention and adherence in clinical research, mounting administrative burdens, and exponentially growing expenses for clinical research that are unsustainable.
The Challenge of Accurately Performing Skin Microbiome Metagenomic Studies
Posted 27th November 2017 by Laura Berry
The human skin is densely colonised with a complex microbial community (1). Microbes are a part of the skin barrier that, combined with innate immunity, keeps the balance essential to maintaining healthy skin (2). Recent and independent research projects strongly suggested that human skin microbiota is of a major importance for human health and could be targeted to improve the skin health.
Gut Flora and the Development of IBS
Posted 13th November 2017 by Laura Berry
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, affecting 10-15% of adults.(1) Abdominal pain, alterations of bowel habits; bloating and flatulence; straining and urgency are all common symptoms.(1)
The Oral Microbiome is Critical in Understanding Health and Disease – Part 2
Posted 6th November 2017 by Laura Berry
Last week’s blog gave an overview of the oral microbiome. In part two, the focus is on dysbiosis and associated illness.
The Oral Microbiome is Critical in Understanding Health and Disease
Posted 30th October 2017 by Laura Berry
New understanding of the microbiome is changing ideas about health and is pertinent to our thinking about the role of the oral microbiome in systemic disease. This article gives an overview of the oral microbiome, while next week’s will focus on dysbiosis and associated illness.
