Some amazing evidence now shows that the vaginal microbiome can influence the risk of a woman giving birth prematurely and influence her risk of acquiring HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. This week, I speak with Prof. Doug Kwon all about this and about the evidence for probiotic or other microbiome therapies to improve women’s health.

Even though the microbiome field is very exciting, it is also unfortunately full of plenty of myths and hyperbole. It is important that we discuss these myths. In Episode 6, I speak to the two best Microbiome Myth Busters in the world, who take us through the inaccuracies that are prevalent in discourse about human microbiomes and why these can be detrimental for science and medicine.

Gene editing tools such as CRISPR are allowing scientists and medics to get rid of devastating genetic conditions, however they can also be used on microbes, meaning they could be used to alter the human microbiome. Dr. Carlotta Ronda is investigating how to gene edit microbiomes to benefit human and environmental health 

Ultra-processed foods contain lots of additives to help with their shelf life. Emulsifiers are one type of additive included within many ultra-processed foods such as mayonnaise, chocolate, ice-cream etc. However, new research suggests that these emulsifiers may have a detrimental effect on the gut lining and the gut microbiome. 

Humans can survive on human milk for at least the first 6 months of life yet surprisingly little has been researcher about this human superfood. Human milk contains prebiotic sugars, antibodies and live microbes, all of which can influence the gut microbiome of babies. I speak with Dr. Meghan Azad from the University of Manitoba about her research on human milk and the infant gut microbiome.

Increasingly, dietary sugar is being replaced by non-caloric sweeteners in our diets. But what effects do these sweeteners have on our health? Only last year, the World Health Organisation categorized the sweetener aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic to humans", yet lots of evidence suggest that sweeteners are beneficial for weight loss and blood sugar control if they replace high sugar intakes. In this episode, I speak with Dr. Jotham Suez who has conducted some ground-breaking research on the effect of non-caloric sweeteners on the gut microbiome and the potential detrimental effects this may have on metabolic health.

The Biomes Podcast is sponsored by Microbiome Insights, who provide end-to-end microbiome research services. Find out more at www.microbiomeinsights.com

Welcome back to Season 3 of Biomes! This season will include some even more fascinating discussions on the latest developments in human microbiome research. Dr. Ruairi Robertson will speak to some of the world’s leading microbiome researchers about everything from artificial sweeteners and the gut microbiome, the vaginal microbiome and gene editing microbiomes. This introductory episode will give a taster of all of the topics that will be discussed in Season 3.

Biomes Season 3 is sponsored by Microbiome Insights (www.microbiomeinsights.com) who provide end-to-end services for everyone looking to include microbiome analyses in their studies.

Infectious diseases have largely been replaced by chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer in the Western world. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that humans are still at significant risk from microbial-diseases. In this episode, Dr. Ruairi Robertson speaks with Prof. Brett Finlay from University of British Columbia, one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases. Prof. Finlay discusses his career studying infectious microbes and how this led him to shift focus to all of the other microbes in our body. He discusses the influence of the gut microbiome on infection susceptibility, fulfilling Koch’s postulates for the gut microbiome and the influence of early life gut microbes on ‘modern plagues’ such as asthma and allergies.

Prof. Finlay is one of the scientific co-founders of Microbiome Insights along with Dr. Bill Mohn. Between them, they have published more than 600 peer reviewed papers and they provide key scientific guidance to the Microbiome Insights team. Find out more at  www.microbiomeinsights.com.

When you hear the phrase ‘gut microbiome’, you most often think about bacteria. However, a huge proportion of your intestinal microbes are viruses, archaea and fungi. These other microbes however, have been studied in much less detail and we know less about what they are doing to your body. In this episode, Dr. Ruairi Robertson speaks with Dr. Marie Claire Arrietta from University of Calgary, a leading researcher on fungal microbiomes. She discusses how gut fungi interact with the immune system, myths about Candida and how gut fungi may affect children’s lung health.

Microbiome Insights provide services to assess the fungal microbiome using ITS2 sequencing. Find out more at www.microbiomeinsights.com

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers and cancer deaths worldwide and its rates are increasing in many countries around the world, especially in younger adults. Emerging evidence points to a role of certain gut microbes in the progression of colorectal cancer by acting as toxins to gut cells. On the other hand, other microbes have been identified as potentially protective against colorectal cancer. In this episode of Biomes, Dr. Ruairi Robertson speaks with Prof. Wendy Garrett of Harvard University. Prof. Garrett is a leading doctor and researcher in the field of the colorectal cancer and the gut microbiome. Her work has shown exciting links between microbes originating in the mouth and how they may contribute to cancer when they travel down to the gut. Prof. Garrett discusses this research and future potential of targeting the gut microbiome as an adjunctive therapy for colorectal cancer.

Microbiome Insights has partnered with some of World's leading cancer research institutes, helping researchers incorporate microbiome sequencing and analysis to their clinical studies. Find out more at www.microbiomeinsights.com.