The human microbiome
The trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies could light paths to better health.
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This Nature Outlook is editorially independent, produced with financial support from Yakult. About this content.
We are not alone in our bodies. Each person is home to trillions of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms, many of which have evolved alongside humans over millions of years and can affect our health for better or worse.
Scientists are now rapidly improving their understanding of the role that this microbiota has in health and disease — work that could yield treatments for disease, and fresh routes to better health.
This collection will be updated throughout 2024, with reporting from journalists and research from across the Nature Portfolio journals.
Check back throughout the year, or sign up to Nature Briefing: Microbiology to receive free email updates on this collection and other research into the role of microorganisms in health and the environment.
Features
Original journalism from Nature.
NEW
Exploring the landscape of human microbiome research
Analysis of publication data sheds light on the people, institutions and concepts at the heart of research. Powered by Nature Navigator.
20 September 2024
An ethical way forward for Indigenous microbiome research
Science has a history of exploitation and extraction. Microbiologists have the chance to take a different approach. By Sam Jones
2 September 2024
Faecal transplants can treat some cancers — but probably won't ever be widely used
Gut microbiota could be crucial to the success or failure of immunotherapy. Donated stool might give oncologists a way to tip the balance, but the real excitement lies in what comes next. By Liam Drew
4 July 2024
Exploring the lung microbiome's role in disease
Unusual microbial communities in the lower airways could influence lung cancer and other conditions, and might point the way to therapies. By Anthony King
17 April 2024
Could the gut give rise to alcohol addiction?
Microorganisms in the gut might make a person more vulnerable to substance-use disorders. By Tammy Worth
7 March 2024
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Research and reviews
Curated from the Nature Portfolio journals.
Nature is pleased to acknowledge financial support from Yakult in producing this Outlook. Nature retains sole responsibility for all editorial content. About this content.
The supporting organization retains sole responsibility for the following message:
For several decades, Yakult has maintained its commitment to improving human health by researching lactobacilli and through the development of its food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical businesses.
Yakult Central Institute has been conducting a wide range of studies in gut microbiota, probiotics, intestinal immunity and other areas of basic research. Above all, the Institute works to understand the relationship between human health and gut microbiota, focusing on basic research into the structures and functions of microbiota.
Yakult’s network extends through Asia, Oceania, the Americas and Europe and its products of probiotics are consumed in 40 countries and regions, including Japan.
The Global Grants for Gut Health is a competitive programme for investigator-initiated research into the human gut microbiota, supported by Yakult and Nature Portfolio.
The fund is open to eligible researchers from across the world. The programme provides three awards of US$100,000 per funding cycle for one-year research projects. The next call for applications opens in June 2025.
For more information, please visit the website.
RELATED EVENT
Nature Café: Modulating the microbiome to treat disease
19 November 2024 | London
Research on the human gut microbiome has led to the approval of the first microbial therapies for treating recurrent gastrointestinal infection. Now, interventions that modulate the composition and functionality of the microbiome are being tested to treat disease beyond the gut.
This in-person event will bring together a panel of distinguished experts to share insights from their research and discuss how knowledge of the role of the gut microbiome in human health can be translated into targeted clinical interventions to treat disease.
The forum is free to attend, so please join us by registering below.