Stories by Kevin Bonham

This delicious fermented tea requires microbial cooperation

I recently submitted my first paper from the Dutton lab, investigating how microbes share their genes. This is the first in a multipart series explaining the science and story of the paper

An excellent podcast to get you caught up on the science of organic food. Short version: they're not all they're cracked up to be

This BFF is all day Sunday, August 28th at the Boston Public Market. I'll be manning a kraut clinic and moderating a panel on the microbiome

The nonmicrobial components of feces may have important consequences as we try to grapple with microbiome research

I got an e-mail from a reader about small farms and GMOs that led me to do some digging

The time it takes waste to pass through your colon has important implications. Expect many poop puns

Anywhere near Boston this weekend? Join Rich Shih and I to eat delicious food, learn about the microbiology of traditional hot sauce and how to make your own!

No one should really be shocked by this, although the extent of the increase in antibiotic resistance is troubling. New research looks at the development of the microbiomes in preterm infants

The microbiome has a huge impact on health, and lifestyle has a huge impact on the microbiome. A new study continues the work of teasing apart what aspects of lifestyle matter

New research is changing the way doctors think about early exposure to potential allergens

In the latest episode of Audiommunity, we discuss the first known acquired food allergy, apparently caused by a bone-marrow transplant.

A reference post for why I’m going to start having silly drawings in my posts instead of real data. 

Spare a thought for the mosquito microbiome - these insects curate their resident bacteria by secreting special molecules that protect their friends and leave foes open to attack.

New research shows that sugars lacking from the milk of malnourished mothers may be the key to a gut ecosystem children need for proper growth

The standard techniques for looking at the diversity of microbial populations may be missing a substantial quantity of important bacteria. Unfortunately, there’s not an easy fix. 
 

Meat grown in a lab? What's not to love?

A new issue of Signal to Noise is all about GMOs - from the basic science to patents and environmental impact. 

The rinds of aged cheeses are complex, multispecies microbial communities, and they're much easier to study than those found in an animal's gut or in soil

More bad news on the link between antibiotics and obesity

There's mounting evidence that antibiotic use early in life may contribute to obesity. As if we needed it—here's, one more reason why we need to care about antibiotic stewardship

Here are some things I saw around the internet in the last month that might be of interest. Food If you can access it, read this week’s edition of Cell, it’s all about food, and there are some great articles in there.

It’s been a while since I’ve written on GMOs, but it may be time to start again. Recently, a huge amount of attention was given to an IARC report suggesting that glyphosate (brand name: Roundup), one of the most common pesticides, may cause cancer.

According to the world food program, 1 out of every 6 children on the planet suffers from malnutrition, and this is responsible for over half of deaths in children under 5 years old.