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Canadian scientists used new high-throughput gene sequencing technology to
characterize the gut microbiota of 24 healthy infants from the CHILD birth cohort.

DNA sequencing allowed bacteria that are difficult to culture to be included in the survey. There were significant differences in bacterial species between infants, especially those who were formula-fed or born by cesarean delivery. Although any antibiotic use was recorded for most patients, the small sample size made it difficult to investigate how antibiotics may have influenced the differences observed.

Scientists at Edinburgh’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine have found that the leprosy bacterium reprograms adult nerve cells to help spread the infection throughout the body.

The bacteria downregulate differentiation-associated genes in adult Schwann cells and upregulate genes of mesoderm development. The reprogrammed cells resemble stem cells and can transfer bacteria around the body, both by becoming new muscle cells and by causing the release of bacteria-laden macrophages.

As The Guardian reports, this research is of greater interest than simply understanding the disease because it may provide a way to create pluripotent stem cells without using a virus that can cause mutations.

Scientists at the University of Vermont found that they were able to identify lung infections by testing exhaled air.

Using secondary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (SESI-MS) to identify volatile organic compounds in the breath of mice, the scientists were not only able to tell which mice were infected but also which strain of bacteria was involved.

Breath analysis is still at an early stage of development but offers the potential for much quicker diagnoses than culturing samples. Extensive work is required to build up a database of VOC fingerprints for different infections and to show that SESI-MS can reliably identify infections in humans.