It has recently become prominent in Mexico and, similarly to other variants, presents a mutation in the Spike protein of the coronavirus. The Mexican variant was identified by a research group of the University of Bologna
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IMAGE: Researchers analysed the faecal samples of 45 turtles hospitalised at the Sea Turtles Rescue Center (CRTM) and found plastic debris in all 45 samples. Plastic debris in their intestines can. view more
Credit: Carlo Marinacci
Sea turtles are witnesses and victims of the high level of plastic pollution of the Adriatic Sea. A group of researchers at the University of Bologna analysed 45 turtles hospitalised at Fondazione Cetacea in Riccione and found plastic debris in their faeces. Besides confirming the role of turtles as ideal sentinels to monitor plastic pollution in the sea, the results of their analysis - published in the journal Frontiers of Marine Medicine - crucially show how the plastic debris in their intestines can dangerously alter their microbiota, eventually compromising their health.
Researchers dig up secrets of gut microbiomes from thousands of years ago What do you get when an archeologist and a gut microbiome researcher collaborate? Ancient poop.
An international research team was able to analyze DNA from 50,000-year-old fecal sediments sampled at the archaeological site of El Salt, near Alicante, Spain, a location where Neanderthals lived before they disappeared from the scene. The fecal material the oldest available to date was excavated by an archeologist from the University of La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, Spain, and then sent to the University of Bologna for the analysis.
The study, published in the journal
DNA samples from 50,000-year-old Neanderthal feces shows human guts have similar microbiomes that played a role in the advancement of humans for tens of thousands of years.
Updated Feb 07, 2021 | 10:45 IST
Neanderthals gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine, suggest the findings of a new study. Study reveals Neanderthals gut microbiota, bacteria helping our health | Photo Credits: Pixabay
Bologna [Italy]: Neanderthals gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine, suggest the findings of a new study.
An international research group led by the University of Bologna achieved this result by extracting and analysing ancient DNA from 50,000-year-old faecal sediments sampled at the archaeological site of El Salt, near Alicante (Spain).
Published in Communication Biology, their paper puts forward the hypothesis of the existence of ancestral components of human microbiota that have been living in the human gastrointestinal tract since before the separation between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals that