UC Science Today

The microbiome may be the key to dealing with allergic diseases such as asthma and eczema. Dr. Susan Lynch of the University of California, San Francisco, was part of a multi-institutional study that found that infants who had a diverse mix of bacteria in the gut during the first six months of life, were at less risk of developing allergies and asthma later in life. At a recent conference, Lynch said their findings could lead to new microbiome-related treatments in humans.

"And it may be a combination of microbial supplementation with appropriate dietary interventions, that really re-engineers the microbial communities in the gastrointestinal tract to produce a broad spectrum of anti-inflammatory metabolic products that influence the tone of host-immune response."

Lynch added that the next step for researchers is to figure out how to recognize microbiome abnormalities, who to test for them, and then how to treat them.

Insects destroy billions of dollars of agriculture each year, which can result in heavy insecticide use on crops. But University of California, Riverside entomologist Anandasankar Ray hopes that practice might soon be weeded out.

"And what we are trying to develop now, is a sort of strategy to see whether we can impact agriculture so that they can reduce their dependency on toxic chemicals."

Ray’s lab is seeking healthy, natural alternatives to insecticides and bug repellants like DEET.

"That would be kind of a dream come true, if we could create a product that is affordable, washable, safe, that smells nice and yet protects the fruit, and we are not worried about consuming."

The lab has identified various substitutes that repel insects based on odors - basically creating a disgust factor for pests.

"We will continually improve upon these active ingredients that we found. It’s not a stagnant process."

Insects destroy billions of dollars of agriculture each year, which can result in heavy insecticide use on crops. But University of California, Riverside entomologist Anandasankar Ray hopes that practice might soon be weeded out.

"And what we are trying to develop now, is a sort of strategy to see whether we can impact agriculture so that they can reduce their dependency on toxic chemicals."

Ray’s lab is seeking healthy, natural alternatives to insecticides and bug repellants like DEET.

"That would be kind of a dream come true, if we could create a product that is affordable, washable, safe, that smells nice and yet protects the fruit, and we are not worried about consuming."

The lab has identified various substitutes that repel insects based on odors - basically creating a disgust factor for pests.

"We will continually improve upon these active ingredients that we found. It’s not a stagnant process."

Insects destroy billions of dollars of agriculture each year, which can result in heavy insecticide use on crops. But University of California, Riverside entomologist Anandasankar Ray hopes that practice might soon be weeded out.

"And what we are trying to develop now, is a sort of strategy to see whether we can impact agriculture so that they can reduce their dependency on toxic chemicals."

Ray’s lab is seeking healthy, natural alternatives to insecticides and bug repellants like DEET.

"That would be kind of a dream come true, if we could create a product that is affordable, washable, safe, that smells nice and yet protects the fruit, and we are not worried about consuming."

The lab has identified various substitutes that repel insects based on odors - basically creating a disgust factor for pests.

"We will continually improve upon these active ingredients that we found. It’s not a stagnant process."

Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD, is a condition that makes it hard for people to process sensory input, like sounds and tactile sensations. This happens because parts of the brain can’t interpret sensory information correctly. Child neurologist Elysa Marco of the University of California, San Francisco describes a common scenario in a child with this disorder.

"Usually it’s an auditory input, a sound. So the top three are vacuum cleaners, blenders, automatic-flushing toilets. Kids between the age of six months and five years will, as soon as they can move themselves, run screaming from the room, hands over their ears when one these kinds of sounds gets into their world. I do think there probably is something about the low pitch hum that seems to hit a particular neural frequency, but we have no idea. The research in this field, really in some ways is just beginning."

Marco was part of a groundbreaking study showing that kids with SPD have measurable brain differences that were distinct from other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Learn more about the UCSF team conducting this research: http://anp.ucsf.edu/overview/spd

Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD, is a condition that makes it hard for people to process sensory input, like sounds and tactile sensations. This happens because parts of the brain can’t interpret sensory information correctly. Child neurologist Elysa Marco of the University of California, San Francisco describes a common scenario in a child with this disorder.

"Usually it’s an auditory input, a sound. So the top three are vacuum cleaners, blenders, automatic-flushing toilets. Kids between the age of six months and five years will, as soon as they can move themselves, run screaming from the room, hands over their ears when one these kinds of sounds gets into their world. I do think there probably is something about the low pitch hum that seems to hit a particular neural frequency, but we have no idea. The research in this field, really in some ways is just beginning."

Marco was part of a groundbreaking study showing that kids with SPD have measurable brain differences that were distinct from other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Learn more about the UCSF team conducting this research: http://anp.ucsf.edu/overview/spd

Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD, is a condition that makes it hard for people to process sensory input, like sounds and tactile sensations. This happens because parts of the brain can’t interpret sensory information correctly. Child neurologist Elysa Marco of the University of California, San Francisco describes a common scenario in a child with this disorder.

"Usually it’s an auditory input, a sound. So the top three are vacuum cleaners, blenders, automatic-flushing toilets. Kids between the age of six months and five years will, as soon as they can move themselves, run screaming from the room, hands over their ears when one these kinds of sounds gets into their world. I do think there probably is something about the low pitch hum that seems to hit a particular neural frequency, but we have no idea. The research in this field, really in some ways is just beginning."

Marco was part of a groundbreaking study showing that kids with SPD have measurable brain differences that were distinct from other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Learn more about the UCSF team conducting this research: http://anp.ucsf.edu/overview/spd

The average American consumes 13 percent of their daily calories from added sugars. And almost half of that comes from sources like sodas, sports drinks or flavored sweetened coffees. Earlier this year, the USDA released new dietary guidelines that, for the first time, advises Americans to consume no more than 10 percent of their calories from added sugars. This is good news to nutritional biologist, Dr. Kimber Stanhope of the University of California, Davis, but she admits it may take some behavior modification.

"Undoubtedly we are all in situations where we need to eat sugar – you know, the social pressures – it’s fine, but what we all need to do is get to the point where sugar is a special occasion food, it’s not a staple. We are eating it at the levels as if it’s a staple and that’s where we need to think very carefully about our foods and where they come from and what they can be doing to our health."

The average American consumes 13 percent of their daily calories from added sugars. And almost half of that comes from sources like sodas, sports drinks or flavored sweetened coffees. Earlier this year, the USDA released new dietary guidelines that, for the first time, advises Americans to consume no more than 10 percent of their calories from added sugars. This is good news to nutritional biologist, Dr. Kimber Stanhope of the University of California, Davis, but she admits it may take some behavior modification.

"Undoubtedly we are all in situations where we need to eat sugar – you know, the social pressures – it’s fine, but what we all need to do is get to the point where sugar is a special occasion food, it’s not a staple. We are eating it at the levels as if it’s a staple and that’s where we need to think very carefully about our foods and where they come from and what they can be doing to our health."

The average American consumes 13 percent of their daily calories from added sugars. And almost half of that comes from sources like sodas, sports drinks or flavored sweetened coffees. Earlier this year, the USDA released new dietary guidelines that, for the first time, advises Americans to consume no more than 10 percent of their calories from added sugars. This is good news to nutritional biologist, Dr. Kimber Stanhope of the University of California, Davis, but she admits it may take some behavior modification.

"Undoubtedly we are all in situations where we need to eat sugar – you know, the social pressures – it’s fine, but what we all need to do is get to the point where sugar is a special occasion food, it’s not a staple. We are eating it at the levels as if it’s a staple and that’s where we need to think very carefully about our foods and where they come from and what they can be doing to our health."