The patterns and pathways of pathogen adaptation during chronic infections can reveal the gateways microbes must unlock to colonize and persist. In chronic lung infections of cystic fibrosis (CF) pati...

A new study in infants challenges the long-standing belief about the pathogen’s effects in the youngest pediatric population. Senior author Joseph Zackular, PhD, provides insights around his work incl...

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 16 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01375-yIn this study, Semon and colleagues examine the role of Clostridioides difficile colonization in early life and its lasting effects on host development.

Diet is a key determinant of gut microbial composition and mucosal immune function, yet the microbial mechanisms linking diet-mediated metabolic changes to immune regulation remain incompletely understood. T helper 17 (Th17) cells play central roles in both protective mucosal immunity and inflammatory pathology, making them a critical target of immunometabolic regulation. In this study, we show that 1,3-butanediol (BD) treatment, which leads to elevated circulating β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) independently of diet, is associated with suppression of intestinal Th17 responses, remodeling of the gut microbiota, and reduced levels of segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB). We further demonstrate that BHB-associated microbiota changes are linked to increased susceptibility to enteric infection. This work provides a mechanistic framework illustrating how metabolic state can influence host immunity through selective effects on commensal microbes. These findings inform future studies of microbiota-mediated immune regulation.

U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to bring ​a major part of national funding for health ‌research under the control of his political appointees, Politico reported on Saturday.

The move came after the NIH director refused Trump’s request to cut Harvard grants in an Oval Office meeting.

Zinc sequestration by the host is a major component of nutritional immunity that restricts bacterial growth during infection. Here, we identify the opine metallophore yersinopine as a primary zinc acq...

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 16 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01375-yIn this study, Semon and colleagues examine the role of Clostridioides difficile colonization in early life and its lasting effects on host development.

In late July, Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), released Science—A Golden Age, setting forth a strategy to revitalize US research and innova...

Choby et al. show an antibiotic-resistant subpopulation is generated by heterogeneity in expression of an antibiotic importer repressed by environmental glucose, suggesting diabetes-related infection ...

The mechanism by which phenotypic heterogeneity is generated within a bacterial population and leads to colistin heteroresistance has been unclear. Heteroresistance is a form of antibiotic resistance ...

Findings challenge long-held assumptions about infants being protected from negative consequences of the highly contagious bacterium

An agreement paves the way for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to be transferred from the NIH’s institute for infectious diseases to the Department of Defense.

Clostridioides difficile modulates inflammation and stem cell functions in the infant gut

Clostridioides difficile causes severe disease in adults but commonly colonizes infants asymptomatically. The consequences of early-life colonization on host development remain unknown. In a neonatal ...

Clostridioides difficile causes severe disease in adults but commonly colonizes infants asymptomatically. The consequences of early-life colonization on host development remain unknown. In a neonatal ...

Clostridioides difficile causes severe disease in adults but commonly colonizes infants asymptomatically. The consequences of early-life colonization on host development remain unknown. In a neonatal ...

Clostridioides difficile causes severe disease in adults but commonly colonizes infants asymptomatically. The consequences of early-life colonization on host development remain unknown. In a neonatal ...

ALT: Elmo Wants More Slime

Using network analysis for inter-hospital spread and algorithmically optimising sentinel site selection, the authors design a surveillance system to rapidly detect emerging nosocomial pathogen strains...

A renowned scientist at UMass Chan Medical School is moving his lab to Canada. The Canadian government named RNA researcher Phillip Zamore among the first recipients of awards that will total more tha...

Bacterial cell division has been extensively studied in model systems, but little is known about how this essential process occurs in the clinically important pathogen Clostridioides difficile. Studie...

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:Academic StaffEmployment Type:Terminal (Fixed Term)Job Profile:Researcher IJob Summary:The Hryckowian Lab is seeking a highly organized, detail-oriented Researcher I to serve as the central operational node and technical backbone of the laboratory. This role splits time roughly equally between comprehensive laboratory management (~20 hours/week) and direct bench research assistance (~20 hours/week).The Hryckowian Lab’s research focuses on understanding how resident microbial communities (microbiomes) act as a "microbial shield" to protect against pathogenic bacterial infections, and how to...

The complaint alleges that the investigations into some of the nation's most prestigious academic institutions were designed to strong-arm the schools into cutting deals for political purposes.

SHIFT: Day (United States of America) Seeking Breakthrough Makers Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers countless ways to change lives. Our diverse community of more than 20,000 Breakthrou...

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