Life Sciences

  • Study investigates potential for gut microbiome to alter drug safety and efficacy

    Wednesday, Jun 10, 2020
    by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research
    Illustration of various gut microbiomes

    Researchers at Princeton University have developed a systematic approach for evaluating how the microbial community in our intestines can chemically transform, or metabolize, oral medications in ways that impact their safety and efficacy. The new methodology provides a more complete picture of how gut bacteria metabolize drugs, and could aid the development of medications that are more effective, have fewer side effects, and are personalized to an individual’s microbiome.

  • Princeton team develops ‘poisoned arrow’ to defeat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

    Wednesday, Jun 3, 2020
    by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications
    Illustration of antibiotic

    Poison is lethal all on its own — as are arrows — but their combination is greater than the sum of their parts. A weapon that simultaneously attacks from within and without can take down even the strongest opponents, from E. coli to MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

  • Gene flow between species influences evolution in Darwin’s finches

    Thursday, May 7, 2020
    by The Office of Communications
    Bird

    Despite the traditional view that species do not exchange genes by hybridization, a new study led by Princeton ecologists Peter and Rosemary Grant show that gene flow between closely related species is more common than previously thought. 

    A team of scientists from Princeton University and Uppsala University detail their findings of how gene flow between two species of Darwin’s finches has affected their beak morphology in the May 4 issue of the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

  • Researchers identify factors essential for chronic hepatitis B infection

    Tuesday, Mar 10, 2020
    by Department of Molecular Biology
    Human liver cells

    A study published in the journal Nature Microbiology identified factors that the hepatitis B virus uses when establishing long-term infection in the liver. The findings could help lead to treatment strategies for chronic HBV infection, a condition that increases the risk of developing liver cancer and is responsible for almost 900,000 deaths worldwide each year. Continue Reading on the Discovery: Research at Princeton blog →

  • Bassler receives Gruber Genetics Prize for discoveries on how bacteria communicate

    Friday, Feb 7, 2020
    by Princeton University
    Bonnie Bassler sitting at a computer screen

    Princeton geneticist Bonnie Bassler will receive the 2020 Gruber Genetics Prize for her pioneering work on how bacteria communicate with each other. In learning about the process of intercellular bacterial communication, known as quorum sensing, Bassler has expanded our understanding of microbes and illuminated innovative approaches to promoting health and preventing disease.  

  • Study of African animals illuminates links between environment, diet and gut microbiome

    Friday, Nov 8, 2019
    by The Office of Communications
    Giraffe facing camera

    In recent years, the field of microbiome research has grown rapidly, providing newfound knowledge — and newfound questions — about the microbes that inhabit human and animal bodies. A new study adds to that foundation of knowledge by using DNA analysis to examine the relationship between diet, the environment and the microbiome.

  • Researchers reverse engineer the 'fireworks of life'

    Monday, Aug 5, 2019
    by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications
    Biologist Sabine Petry and graduate student Akanksha Thawani examine frogg eggs

    Imagine standing in a lumberyard and being asked to build a house — without blueprints or instructions of any kind. The materials are all in front of you, but that doesn’t mean you have the first idea how to get from point A to point B.

    That was the situation facing the Princeton biologists who are building microtubules, the skeleton of the cell, from scratch.

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