The gut microbiome is an important ecosystem of microbes that lives in each one of us, and its strength affects our overall health. However, the small intestine is an underappreciated part of the gut ...

When it comes to intestines, it sure seems like two are better than one. I asked my friend Franck Carbonero why that is. He’s a microbiologist at Washington State University. He studies the bacteria ...

This story is part of a series exploring human anatomy and physiology complexities. Each story in this collection showcases discoveries reshaping our understanding of the body's inner workings, ...

Microbiome research to date has been much like the parable of the blind men and the elephant. How much can be said about an elephant by examining just its tail? Researchers have studied what is most ...

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) affects the movement of food, fluid, air, and waste through the intestines. It can be genetic or develop due to another health condition. CIPO is a rare ...

Mesenteric ischemia, or small bowel ischemia, involves a blockage of blood flow to the small intestine. Symptoms include pain and bloating. It often results from blood clots or atherosclerosis.

Intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a rare condition that occurs when you have symptoms of intestinal obstruction without anything physically blocking the intestines. It can be chronic or develop ...

The research projects in Michael Snyder, PhD’s lab at Stanford cover a wide range of interests; COVID-19, the NASA twin study, and personal omics profiling to name some examples. Another interest of ...

Chemical digestion occurs when the body uses enzymes to break down certain molecules, such as carbohydrates. This process allows the bloodstream to absorb smaller molecules to transport around the ...