Microbes put drugs in(action).

Interactions between the gut microbiome, nutrients, drugs, and host physiology are inherently complex. Gut microbes contribute significantly towards host homeostasis and can modulate host-targeted drugs, affecting therapeutic outcomes. Finding ways to harness the gut microbiome to improve drug efficacy can be a promising strategy to advance precision medicine.

C16ORF70/MYTHO promotes healthy aging in C.elegans and prevents cellular senescence in mammals.

The identification of genes that confer either extension of life span or accelerate age-related decline was a step forward in understanding the mechanisms of aging and revealed that it is partially controlled by genetics and transcriptional programs. Here, we discovered that the human DNA sequence C16ORF70 encodes a protein, named MYTHO (macroautophagy and youth optimizer), which controls life span and health span. MYTHO protein is conserved from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans and its mRNA was upregulated in aged mice and elderly people.

Thermus thermophilus DNA can be used as internal control for process monitoring of clinical metagenomic next-generation sequencing of urine samples.

Introduction: Metagenomics is increasingly considered for clinical diagnostics. In order for this technology to become integrated in the clinical microbiology laboratory, process controls are required. Molecular diagnostic tests typically integrate an internal control (IC) to detect potential sources of variation and technical failure.