Research in worms provides a model to study how the human microbiome influences disease

(Buck Institute for Research on Aging) The human microbiome appears to play a significant role in health and disease, but the mechanisms of how it does so is not well understood. Researchers at the Buck Institute have used the nematode C. elegans to decipher how specific bacterial signals influence a host, whether the host is a worm or a human. It reveals for the first time how bacterial genes modify worm biology, with implications for future study of the human microbiome.

from EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science http://ift.tt/2hOrWYW