Archives
Whey Protein Powder Lessens Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms in Mice
By: Alla Katsnelson, Ph.D
Issue #117 | Date: 11 2023
Consuming whey protein powder improves learning and memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease by modulating a signaling pathway that drives inflammation.
Human Milk Antibodies Against Covid: Potent and Persistent
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #117 | Date: 11 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique opportunity to understand how a novel virus would influence the transfer of antibodies from mother to infant in human milk.
Preserving Milk Proteins while Inactivating Pathogens
By: Sandeep Ravindran, Ph.D.
Issue #117 | Date: 11 2023
High-pressure processing of human milk can inactivate pathogens while also preserving human milk proteins important for preterm infant health.
Immune Cells Produce a Distinct Subset of Antibodies in Human Milk
By: Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Ph.D.
Issue #117 | Date: 11 2023
Polymeric antibodies secreted into human milk are unique to individuals and distinct from antibodies in serum.
Myo-inositol in Human Milk Spurs Brain Development
By: Alla Katsnelson, Ph.D
Issue #116 | Date: 08 2023
A molecule called myo-inositol present in human milk helps neurons form connections–a key feature of brain development.
Immune Cells Linked to Lactation Discovered in Mouse and Human Milk
By: Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Ph.D.
Issue #116 | Date: 08 2023
A distinct group of immune cells arises in mouse mammary glands during lactation and is passed to offspring via milk.
A Gut Reaction: Lactose Consumption in Lactase-Lacking Adults
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #116 | Date: 08 2023
Dairy digestion by lactose-intolerant individuals can often cause pain and discomfort. New research suggests that continued lactose consumption could potentially resolve these symptoms by increasing the population of gut bacteria that utilize lactose.
Milk Oligosaccharides: Every Mammal Has a Different Sugar Mama
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #116 | Date: 08 2023
The creation of a milk oligosaccharide database helps researchers better understand how these bioactive carbohydrates evolved to meet the needs of both mother and infant across diverse groups of mammals.
Intergenerational Effects of Low Milk Energy in Monkeys
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #115 | Date: 07 2023
First time rhesus macaque mothers make lower energy milk for their daughters. New research found the impact of this reduced investment extended beyond infancy, even influencing daughters’ milk production as adults.
Mother’s Milk Jump-starts Heart Cells in Mice
By: Alla Katsnelson, Ph.D
Issue #115 | Date: 07 2023
Researchers have identified a fatty acid in the maternal milk of mice that activates a protein called RXR, which plays a crucial role in neonatal heart cells.
Extracellular Vesicles (mEVs) from Milk May Support Gut Health
By: Alice Callahan, PhD
Issue #115 | Date: 07 2023
In experiments in intestinal cells and mice, extracellular vesicles isolated from milk reduced inflammation and showed signs of healing “leaky gut.”
Mouse Maternal Diet Influences Offspring’s Risk of Severe Respiratory Infection
By: Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Ph.D.
Issue #115 | Date: 07 2023
A high-fiber maternal diet in mice is associated with milk microbes that increase infants’ immunity to severe respiratory infections.
Cell Types and Metabolites in Human Milk Change Over Lactation
By: Alla Katsnelson, Ph.D
Issue #114 | Date: 05 2023
Scientists used single cell RNA sequencing and other techniques to characterize cells and molecules present in human milk over several months of lactation.
The Tall and the Short of It: Can Milk Drinking Explain Increases in Stature Among Prehistoric Agriculturalists?
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #114 | Date: 05 2023
The genetic variant that allows for lactose digestion through the lifespan may explain differences in adult stature among prehistoric farmers.
Mom’s Helpful Microbes: Yogurt Consumption During Pregnancy Could Lower Risk of Allergies in Offspring
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #114 | Date: 05 2023
A pregnant mother’s gut microbes might communicate with the fetal immune system. Feeding these microbes with probiotic rich yogurt may play a role in allergy prevention.
Live Microbes Intake Linked with Better Health
By: Alice Callahan, PhD
Issue #114 | Date: 05 2023
People who ate more foods containing live microbes, including yogurt and fresh produce, had better markers of cardiometabolic health.
Milk-linked Microbe Mitigates Effect of Antibiotics on Asthma Risk
By: Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Ph.D.
Issue #113 | Date: 03 2023
Antibiotic use in infancy increases likelihood of childhood asthma, but a microbe that feeds on breastmilk may minimize this risk.
Facts, Not Fads: Dairy Fat Can Be Heart Healthy
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #113 | Date: 03 2023
Far from causing clogged arteries and high cholesterol, a large prospective study finds that adults eating more dairy-derived saturated fats had lower levels of blood markers associated with cardiovascular risk.
Flavor Wheel Points to Role of Fat in Human Milk Taste
By: Alla Katsnelson, Ph.D
Issue #113 | Date: 03 2023
A panel of tasters identified the key flavor features of human milk to create a tool that can quantify its sensory properties. They found that fat content is a key predictor of taste.
Dairy Consumption in Youth Linked with Better Mental Health
By: Alice Callahan, PhD
Issue #113 | Date: 03 2023
A cross-sectional study of youth in Beijing found that those who regularly consumed dairy products were less likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Farm Exposures Influence Human Milk Composition and Might Reduce Allergies
By: Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Ph.D.
Issue #112 | Date: 01 2023
Maternal exposure to microbes and to farm environments builds their immune response, which in turn protects children that are fed breast milk from allergies.
Can Prehistoric Disease and Famine Explain the Evolution of Lactase Persistence in Europe?
By: Lauren Milligan Newmark, Ph.D.
Issue #112 | Date: 01 2023
Lactase persistence (LP) has been the textbook example for a genetic adaptation to the human diet for decades.
Consuming Dairy Products Helps Guard against Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Older Adults
By: Anna Petherick, Ph.D.
Issue #112 | Date: 01 2023
The food sources from which older adults get their vitamin B12, as opposed to merely how much of it they consume, matter for how much their bodies are able to use it. Vitamin B12 in dairy products appears to be especially available to the body.
Gut Microbiome-targeting IgG Antibodies in Maternal Milk Protect Newborn Mice
By: Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Ph.D.
Issue #112 | Date: 01 2023
• A study in mice suggests that the transfer of IgG antibodies in milk is even more important than transfer via the placenta.