Evolutionary biology: The butt boggles the mind: Nature explores evolution of the anus

Darkfrog submitted, created time 2 months 3 days (www.nature.com)

It might not make for stellar dinner conversation, but it's a relevant question. When did multicellular organisms develop an anus? The first organisms to use guts--like modern cnidarians (formerly called coelenterates, meaning "one hollow cavity")--got by with just a mouth. (Feeling like you need to barf? They did too!) However, as the guts get longer, one hole becomes impractical.

"Just punch another hole in it" might seem like an obvious answer to anyone who's survived a kindergarten art class, but, from an evolutionary standpoint, it's pretty darn unlikely

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A nervy approach to weight loss

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 1 week (www.latimes.com)

From this study, disrupting the vagus nerve, which runs between the gut and the brain, may supplant obesity surgery.

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After careful research, study suggests that HIV "can never be cured"

sumsung submitted, created time 9 months 1 week (www.nature.com)

Even the best drugs currently available cannot weed out HIV from all of its hiding places within the body, according to a new study of HIV patients in the United States. The discovery seems to confirm doctors' suspicions that once the virus gains a foothold, it can never be fully eradicated from the body.

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Mucins stand guard against gut infections

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Mucins are large proteins that are secreted on the surface of the gut, and while long regarded as having a role as a barrier to mucosal infection, data to support this theory have been lacking. In a new JCI study researchers show that cell surface mucin 1 (Muc1) plays a critical role in protecting the mucosal lining of the gut from bacterial infection.

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Gut check: Tracking the ecosystem within us

BIOBOSS submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.eurekalert.org)

By applying sophisticated genetic analysis to samples of a year's worth baby poop, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have developed a detailed picture of how an astonishing number of bacteria come and go in the intestinal tract during a child's first year of life.

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Out of Africa, in the Gut

Rhett submitted, created time 1 year 9 months (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

By tracing the spread of different strains of H. pylori, researchers have been able to trace and date the migration of modern human ancestors out of Africa. Humans who first trekked out of Africa carried bacteria in their guts that cause ulcers and stomach cancer and passed them to Eurasia and to their descendants. Researchers caught convincing evidence for it. But there were also some controversials, for example, the timing of the exodus.
I think this paper was value of exploration of the migration out of Africa

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