How to measure microbiome health?
Commentary proposes adaptive coherence: capacity of host-microbiome systems to sustain integrated function via reorganization. Reframes health as emergent & relational, w/measurements of adaptability/functional integrity
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
We've known the gut-brain axis is a key underpinning of Parkinson's disease. Today, for the 1st time, a gut microbiome signature denoting risk found in healthy individuals with genetic predisposition
nature.com/articles/s41...
Nutrient availability shapes the diversity and structure of microbial communities www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs
So cool.... A landmark finding
Protein-templated synthesis of dinucleotide repeat DNA by an antiphage reverse transcriptase | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Bacteria producing PHB harm C. elegans in multiple ways. Top: Model of how bacterially produced PHB affect C. elegans and which mechanisms can be alleviated by nuc-1 knock out. PHB, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate; Dar, deformed anal region. Bottom: Transmission electron micrograph of bioplastic polyhydroxybutyrate granules filling the intestine of C. elegans. Imaged by Gregor Hendricks, PHD at UMass Chan Medical School Electron Microscopy Core.
Some #bacteria polymerize excess carbon into polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable storage polymer. This study shows that #PHB -producing bacteria kill #Celegans nematodes by disrupting pharyngeal & intestinal function @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4cFAwDz
Great to see this out. Practical guidance on how to use protein depletion systems in C. elegans
International Space Station astronauts poking heads out from inside NG CRS-24 capsule with CBIOMES experiments in MERLIN incubator just behind them.
#WormsinSpace update: since launch day, our tiny #Celegans astronauts and their microbes have been living in microgravity. #ISS astronauts have unpacked #CBIOMES (below), and will take their first looks at these host-microbiome studies tomorrow!
#microbiome #NASA #ISS #SpaceBiology
🚀 🪱 🧪 ðŸ¦
Screenshot of live feed highlighting CBIOMES
Our tiny #Celegans astronauts are 30m out from docking with the #ISS! Tune in live here plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-vi...
#CBIOMES #spacebiology #microbiome #wormsinspace 🚀🧪🪱ðŸ¦
Follow along with us on NASA+ here:
==> Launch (next attempt, 4/11 6:40AM CST): plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-vi...
==> Docking with ISS (if launches 4/11 - then 4/13, 10:40AM CST): plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-vi...
Picture of Celegans animals expressing fluorescent proteins and colonized by fluorescent bacteria— GUT MICROBIOME INVESTIGATING HOW SPACEFLIGHT IMPACTS ORGANISMS AND THEIR GUT MICROBIOME BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Not sure how many spacewalks they’ll have time for, but these studies in #Celegans will help tell us how the #microbiome alters host responses to microgravity.
Next launch attempt of thousands of tiny astronauts on 4/11/26 at 7:40am EST!
www.nasa.gov/missions/sta...
#wormsinspace #microbiome #spacebiology #Celegans #CBIOMES
A #NASA-funded study on the #ISS brings together B. Samuel @microbeminded.bsky.social, S. Vanapalli and M. Driscoll to address #microgravity effects on the #gutMicrobiome and what that means on long missions. bit.ly/4clyhnP @bcmhouston.bsky.social @texastech.bsky.social @rutgersu.bsky.social
Cc: @monicadriscoll.bsky.social
We're searching for the next Director of the Duchossois Family Institute at UChicago
The most exciting leadership role in microbiome science right now: lead faculty, cutting-edge cores, and an FDA-approved facility for microbiome therapeutics
Email/DM me if interested
apply.interfolio.com/182203
Or course #CBIOMES would not have be here without the funding and operations support of #NASA, Bioserve, NASA Kennedy Space Center and Space Biology, plus Texas Tech University (Siva Vanapalli), Baylor College of Medicine (Buck Samuel), Rutgers University and Ohio University (Nate Szewczyk).
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mission logo for NG24
Launch is late this week (4/9-10) from Cape Canaveral / Kennedy Space Center. Watch live on NASA+. I'll post updates and a live link as we get closer, and when the worms come home. 🪱 🚀 🦠🧬 🚀
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
#WormsinSpace #Celegans #Microbiome #ISS #CBIOMES #Artemis #spaceX
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None of this happens without model organism biology. Decades of basic research on a 1mm #Celegans worm built the foundation for #space #microbiome experiments in 2026. Investment in fundamental science is an investment in future treatments and discoveries.
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/s...
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Lunar base concept released by NASA in February 2026. Credit: NASA
The payoff ultimately: targeted probiotics and "living medicines" to protect crew health on long missions. If we're going to build a base on the Moon, we need to know how to keep people healthy there. Crosstalk between gut, brain and muscle biology is part of that answer.
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The worms launch in culture bags and microfluidic chips, live on the station for ~6 days, then get imaged, frozen and returned to Earth for analysis. A matching ground experiment runs simultaneously so we can isolate what impact of microgravity.
#Celegans #SpaceBiology #microbiome #cbiomes 🚀 ðŸ¦
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#CBIOMES flies worms with three different microbiomes and four genetically distinct host backgrounds. Because real populations aren't uniform, and we want to understand how individual variation shapes #microbiome behavior and impact on host under stress.
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Think of #Celegans as a mini version of ourselves, but with a transparent body, short lifespan and simpler microbiome. What we learn about gut-microbiome interactions in worms often applies broadly, including in humans. That's the power of basic biology.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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We know #spaceflight changes the #microbiome in astronauts. What we don't yet know is what that means for their long-term health. That's the gap #CBIOMES was designed to close — before humans are living on
the Moon full-time.
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Here's the connection to #Artemis. Long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars will stress the human body in ways we're still learning to understand. One of the least-studied: what happens to the gut #microbiome in microgravity and how can it impact astronaut responses to #spaceflight.
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Preflight microscopic image of C. elegans worm expressing fluorescent proteins in gut microbiome, plus reporting on changes in gut, nerve, and muscle function as part of C. elegans Biological Investigation on Microbiome Effect in Space (CBIOMES).
The worms are called C. elegans. About 1mm long, with a lot of physiology that works like ours. Scientists have used them to make Nobel Prize-winning discoveries about genetics, aging, and disease. Now they're taking a trip to space.
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#Celegans #spacebiology
CBIOMES team - Buck Samuel, Monica Driscoll, Shilpa Akella, Atiyya Soroyia, Siva Vanapalli, Ciara Hosea and Bushra Rhaman. Not pictured: Dana Blackburn. Collaboration between Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Tech and Rutgers University.
#Artemis is circling the Moon right now. And later this week, our team's experiment launches to the #ISS. Tiny worms. Defined gut microbiomes. Here's why the two are connected. 🧵
#WormsinSpace #CBIOMES #Celegans 🧪 🪱 🧬 🚀
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Montage of Artemis II launch photos
#Artemis did not disappoint! Got an amazing view of the launch yesterday from NASA Kennedy Space Center. Hard to describe, but the feeling in my bones was something else and unexpected! 🚀🧪
Picture of Kennedy space Center at sunrise.
Super excited to be at Kennedy Space Center for a #NASA project ( #wormsInSpace launching next week, but more on that later ) AND to be able to see the launch of #Artemis II! To the moon and stars!! 🚀🌖 🧪
Big news from #arXiv. They are "spinning out of Cornell University and into a new independent non-profit later this year."
"We are launching the search for a Chief Executive Officer to lead the new organization and ask for your help in spreading the word." #scholarlypublishing #preprints #academia
A block of text that says "Scientists at the University of Miami are carrying out a research study on trends in the field of science communication. For this survey we are defining science communication as work that is done: • by a technical subject area expert in some field related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, • outside of classroom settings • aimed at the public If you are 18 years of age or older and work or recently worked in this field (full-time, part-time, or as a side project), please click the link below to complete a short survey. If you are interested in learning more about this research study, please e-mail us at Julia.wester@miami.edu. In the body of your email please provide your full name, and if you would prefer to be contacted by phone, your phone number and the best time to reach you. Contacting us for more information does not commit you to participating, and should you decide to participate you may terminate your participation at any time."
Attention Science Communicators!
We are conducting a survey on the landscape of science communication & need your help gathering experiences.
Please send this to #SciComm ppl you know. We want to get as thorough a sense of the state of the field as we can.
umiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
We in the C. elegans community are lucky to have the #wormfeed. Big shout out to @microbeminded.bsky.social for creating such a wonderful gathering place.
And you can pin the wormfeed to your homescreen: bsky.app/profile/did:...