Human microbiome

Cancer researchers at the University of Virginia have made an interesting observation that links microbe diversity in intestines to a propensity for breast tumors to metastasize.  This was in mice, but they found that in an antibiotic treated group, where the microbiome was less diverse, metastasis proceeded faster, thought that was not true of the mice developing cancer in the first place.  The link seems to be collagen in the treated group, resulting from the antibiotics, creating a niche for tumor cells to spread.   MORE

Image Credit:  Flickr