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Methane-producing archaea, or methanogens produce methane from hydrogen and CO₂ for example, and contribute to the microbial metabolic processes as well as in the human gut, according to Christine Moissl-Eichinger, Professor of Interactive Microbiome Research at Medical University of Graz, reported in an April 17 2025 issue of Phys.org. 

 
Archaea were originally discovered above all in extreme environments such as hot springs or salt lakes, but they are also found in the human body, especially in the gut.

 

Dr. Moissl-Eichinger believes that archaea may play a significant role in the development or progression of certain disease. She and her team’s discovery shows archaea thriving under strictly anaerobic conditions, producing methane, and surprisingly large amounts of succinic acid, a metabolic product that is associated with inflammatory processes in the human body.

 

 

 

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New research combines artificial intelligence (AI), genetics, and multi-omics analyses to explore how metabolites produced by gut bacteria might influence Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a May 28 2024 Cell Report and PsyPost.

There is a noticeable change in the gut microbiome of AD patients. AD is marked by the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau protein tangles in the brain, which interfere with neural function and lead to cell death, according to the PsyPost report.

 

The study, conducted by Feixiong Cheng and his team from the Cleveland Clinic Genome Center, the Luo Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and the Center for Microbiome and Human Health, demonstrate a systems biology framework to uncover the GPCR (G-protein-coupled receptors) targets of human gut microbiota in AD and other complex diseases.

 

Gut metabolites are the key to many physiological processes in our bodies, and for every key there is a lock for human health and disease, says Cheng. Cheng and his team decided to map out the interactions between these metabolites and the human receptors they affect using Ai. They successfully predicted the interactions between over a million metabolite-receptor pairs, refining our understanding of the gut-brain axis.

 

 

Research at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York suggests that the microbiome may go even further than improving our immune system and lowering risk of chronic diseases — by “turning bile acids into immune-boosting compounds that help the body fight cancer”, according to an April 17 2025 report in Discover magazine and Cell.

 

Said researcher Chun-Jun Guo, he and his team found that gut bacteria can transform bile acids, more than fifty different bile acid molecules modified by the microbiota. Among the 56 bile acids his team discovered and altered, they found four bile acid molecules that interact with sex hormones like androgen to regulate many aspects of human development.

 

Previous studies have shown that blocking these receptors can enhance the ability of these immune cells to fight tumors. The teams’ mice studies have proven this to be the case, enhancing T-cell responses within tumors and killing cancer cells.

 

 

 

 

Researchers discovered new microbial species and never-before-reported metagenomes from several African sites, according to Professor Scott Hazelhurst, senior scientist at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) and Professor of Bioinformatics, Wits University, as reported in a January 30 2025 issue of Phys.org. The study adds high-quality genomes of 1,005 bacterial and 40,135 viral species.

 

We now know that geography largely shapes microbiome differences, with some species thriving in rural areas and others in industrialized settings,” says co-author Dr. Luicer Ingasia Olubayo of the SBIMB as quoted in the Phys.org report.

 

The study identified “food deserts” where there is a gross deficiency of healthier fresh produce and foods. In addition, there is the absence of important bacteria, Treponema, in urban participants. The study found that people living in food deserts have a “higher risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.”

 

Researchers have discovered that naturally occurring gut microbes produce indoles—compounds that play a key role in regulating anxiety-related brain activity, according to a February 17 2025 SciTech Daily report. Many gut microbes produce indole, including Escherichia coli, Bacteroides,Clostridium, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus.

 

This discovery is based on research by scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School and the National Neuroscience Institute in their newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is the brain region that processes emotions such as fear and anxiety.

 

The study found that the when the body and brain are exposed to live microbe metabolites, the SK2 channels prevent neurons from over-excitement, according to Sci-Tech Daily.

 

Professor Sven Pettersen, Singapore National Neuroscience Institute, believes it opens the therapeutic potential of targeting the gut-brain axis to treat anxiety-related disorders by restoring the microbe composition through dietary supplementation with indoles or by introducing indole-producing gut microbes as probiotics.

 

The SK2 channels, or small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, are a type of potassium channel that regulates neuronal excitability.

 

Wikipedia further explains that their “activation limits the firing frequency and helps regulate hyper- polarization in the neurons of the central nervous system.

 

Researchers know that Akkermansia muciniphila (AM) feeds on sugar found in the mucus digestive system. Dr. Lucy Crouch of University of Birmingham led a pig model focused on 66 enzymes that the AM microbe uses to break down mucus that is an essential part of the mucus layer lining the human gastrointestinal tract.

 

Dr. Crouch and her team found that a combination of enzymes from AM were able to completely break down the mucin, the first understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind how a microbe breaks down sugars.

 
These microbes completely break down the glycan part of mucin, a receptor for a number of pathogens. These newly characterized enzymes may be used in characterizing the different glycans that humans produce, which can be indicative of disease.

 

“AM is a hugely important microbe, and levels of the microbe can be a good indicator of overall health,” adds Dr. Crouch.

 

 

Certain gut bacteria breaks down bile acids—substances produced by the liver to digest fats. During this process, gut bacteria create a compound called lithocholic acid (LCA), according to a January 10 2025 India Times report.

 

The report references a study that shows that LCA extends life in a mice study. They found that LCA mimics the effects of fasting; helping the body repair itself and manage energy more effectively.

 

Researchers discovered that LCA activates a protein called TULP3 inside our cells, which triggers the “fasting effect” of cell repair and energy management, according to the India Times report.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/our-body-has-the-ultimate-chemical-that-can-make-us-live-longer-know-how/amp_articleshow/116951938.cms