A new review in Science China Life Sciences examines how machine learning and host-microbiome multi-omics can be combined to better understand health and disease. The article outlines the road from fragmented datasets to interpretable models, precision interventions, and ultimately a “virtual gut” that could simulate how diet, drugs, or microbial therapies affect individual patients.

Scientists have mapped in unprecedented detail the structure of Vibrio bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections linked to antibiotic resistance.

Statement Highlights: Personalized guidance about the appropriate amount and type of physical activity for children with heart conditions relies on diagnosis, individual risk profile and personal and family goals. Ongoing follow-up and shared decision-making among patients, families and their health care team are critical.

A new study finds that bacteria can actively block the transfer of beneficial genes to neighboring cells, using specialized proteins to specifically destroy shared DNA before it spreads. This challenges the long-held view that bacteria freely exchange genetic material and reveals a more competitive system in which microbes tightly control who gets access to valuable traits, an insight that could help scientists better understand and potentially limit the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Experts in environmental and human health from the University of Plymouth’s newly-established Centre of Environmental Hepatology are investigating whether the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in the liver is directly contributing to the soaring global rates of liver disease.