Tom's Blog on Life

Summary:

A global study has uncovered a mysterious group of gut bacteria that shows up again and again in healthy people. Known as CAG-170, these microbes were found at lower levels in people with a range of chronic diseases. Genetic clues suggest they help digest food and support the broader gut ecosystem. Researchers say the discovery could reshape how we measure and maintain gut health.

FULL STORY

Scientists have identified a hidden group of gut bacteria that appears to be strongly linked to good health worldwide. The discovery could help define what a healthy microbiome looks like and lead to more targeted probiotics in the future.

A large international study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge has identified a little-known group of gut bacteria that appears far more often in healthy people. The group, called CAG-170, was consistently found at higher levels in individuals without chronic illness.

CAG-170 is known only through its genetic signature. Scientists have not been able to grow most of these bacteria in the lab, which has made them difficult to study directly.

Using advanced computational techniques, the team searched for CAG-170’s genetic fingerprint in gut microbiome samples from more than 11,000 people across 39 countries. The pattern was clear. Healthy individuals had more of these bacteria than people with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Further genetic analysis showed that CAG-170 has the ability to produce large amounts of Vitamin B12. It also carries enzymes that help break down carbohydrates, sugars, and fibers in the gut.

Researchers believe the Vitamin B12 produced by CAG-170 likely supports other beneficial gut bacteria rather than directly benefiting the person hosting it. In other words, these microbes may help maintain balance within the broader gut ecosystem.

The findings suggest that CAG-170 could eventually serve as a marker of gut microbiome health. They also point toward the possibility of developing probiotics designed specifically to maintain healthy levels of CAG-170.

Dr. Alexandre Almeida, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine who led the study, said: “Our work has revealed that CAG-170 bacteria — part of the ‘hidden microbiome’ — appear to be key players in human health, likely by helping us to digest the main components of our food and keeping the whole microbiome running smoothly.”

He added: “We looked at the gut microbes of thousands of people across 39 countries and 13 different diseases including Crohn’s and obesity. We consistently found that people with these diseases had lower levels of CAG-170 bacteria in their gut.”

The study was published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

Exploring the ‘Hidden Microbiome’

This research builds on Almeida’s earlier effort to assemble a detailed reference library of microbial genomes found in the human gut. That resource, known as the ‘Unified Human Gastrointestinal Genome catalogue’, maps the genetic blueprints of microbes that live inside us.

To create the catalogue, Almeida used a technique called ‘metagenomics’, which involves analyzing all microbial DNA in a gut sample at once and then separating it into individual species.

The work identified more than 4,600 bacterial species living in the gut. Remarkably, more than 3,000 of these had never been documented there before, highlighting how much of the microbiome remains unexplored.

The catalogue provides reference genomes for each species, including CAG-170. These references act like genetic fingerprints that allow researchers to detect specific microbes in other gut samples.

“Our earlier work revealed that around two-thirds of the species in our gut microbiome were previously unknown. No-one knew what they were doing there — and now we’ve found that some of these are a fundamental and underappreciated component of human health,” said Almeida.

Three Independent Analyses Confirm the Link

The team analyzed more than 11,000 gut microbiome samples from people living primarily in Europe, North America, and Asia. The dataset included healthy individuals as well as people diagnosed with 13 different diseases, including Crohn’s disease, colorectal cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

By comparing each sample to the Unified Human Gastrointestinal Genome catalogue, researchers found that CAG-170 stood out as the group within the ‘hidden microbiome’ most strongly associated with good health. This pattern was consistent across countries.

In a second analysis, the scientists examined the full gut microbiome composition of more than 6,000 healthy individuals to identify which species appeared most capable of stabilizing the gut ecosystem. Once again, CAG-170 ranked as the group most consistently linked to health.

A third analysis focused on people with dysbiosis, a condition in which the gut microbiome becomes imbalanced. Lower levels of CAG-170 were associated with a greater likelihood of dysbiosis. This imbalance has been linked to long-term conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and anxiety and depression.

Implications for Future Probiotics

The human gut contains billions of bacteria representing about 4,600 species. Although each person’s microbial mix is unique, the overall goal of the microbiome is the same: to help the body function properly.

Researchers hope that by better defining what a healthy microbiome looks like, they can identify how it changes in disease and potentially restore balance. Tailored probiotics are one possible approach, and this study represents an important step in that direction.

“The probiotic industry hasn’t really kept up with gut microbiome research — people are still using the same probiotic species that were being used decades ago. We’re now discovering new groups of bacteria like CAG-170 with important links to our health, and probiotics aimed at supporting them could have a much greater health benefit,” said Almeida.

Until now, much of microbiome research has focused on bacteria that can be grown and studied in the lab. Most CAG-170 bacteria cannot yet be cultured this way. Scientists will need to develop new methods to grow and test them before these findings can lead to potential new therapies.

Journal Reference:

1. Ana C. da Silva, Jacob Lapkin, Qi Yin, Efrat Muller, Alexandre Almeida. Meta-analysis of the uncultured gut microbiome across 11,115 global metagenomes reveals a candidate signature of health. Cell Host, 2026; DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2026.01.013

Source: https://nexusnewsfeed.com/article/science-futures/scientists-discover-a-hidden-gut-bacterium-linked-to-good-health/

The juice of a lemon is mostly Vitamin C and citric acid, but the peel (the zest) is concentrated with D-Limonene. This compound is a powerful activator of “Phase II detoxification” in the liver—the specific pathway that neutralizes fat-soluble toxins. Adding just half a teaspoon of lemon zest to your water or meals provides the “chemical key” your liver needs to flush out pollutants that the juice can’t touch.

The study titled “Frankincense oil derived from Boswellia carteri induces tumor cell specific cytotoxicity” investigates the potential anti-tumor effects of frankincense essential oil, which is obtained from the hardened gum resin of Boswellia trees and has a long history of traditional use. The researchers tested the effects of the oil on human bladder cancer cells (J82) and compared these to its effects on normal bladder urothelial cells (UROtsa). They found that frankincense oil significantly reduced the viability of cancerous J82 cells in a dose-dependent manner while having minimal impact on the normal urothelial cells, suggesting a degree of selectivity for malignant cells. Gene expression profiling further indicated that the oil activated pathways related to cell cycle arrest and growth suppression in the cancer cells, although classical indicators of apoptosis, like DNA fragmentation, were not observed in this system.

Based on these findings, the authors conclude that frankincense oil can distinguish between bladder cancer cells and normal cells and effectively suppress tumor cell viability through multiple molecular pathways. This selective cytotoxicity, supported by comprehensive microarray and bioinformatics analyses, suggests that frankincense oil could have potential as an alternative intravesical therapeutic agent for bladder cancer treatment, warranting further research into its mechanisms and clinical applicability.

PMID: 19296830

(Tom: This is an absolutely brilliant article and if you have been diagnosed with Hypertension it is a must read!)

What they never tell us about blood pressure and the medications for it

Story at a Glance:

•Blood pressure diagnoses have exploded as guidelines repeatedly lower thresholds, resulting in half of American adults now being “hypertensive” despite minimal evidence justifying this, and erroneous diagnoses frequently occurring.

•Despite aggressively treating it, medicine still does not know what causes high blood pressure. As a result, it overlooks that impaired circulation elevates blood pressure and attributes the ensuing damage to “high” blood pressure rather than to insufficient blood flow to the tissues.

•Excessively low BP from over-treatment is dangerous, increasing risks of fainting, falls (especially in the elderly), kidney injury, cognitive decline, ischemic strokes, and mortality.

•Different blood pressure medicines have very different risks and benefits. Because doctors are unaware of this, they frequently push patients to take inappropriate medications and then deny that life-impairing side effects are happening.

•This article will explore the core issues with the conventional framework of blood pressure and what we must know to reclaim cardiovascular health.

Ever since I first entered the medical field, something struck me as off about the relentless focus on blood pressure, and over time I noticed that the blood pressures people reported to me varied widely. While pondering this, a talented practitioner and mentor once told me that the current medical paradigm fixates on blood pressure because it’s easier to measure than blood perfusion (healthy blood flow).

Then, as I became more acquainted with the medical field, I began to notice a consistent pattern—whenever a drug existed that could treat a number or statistic, as the years went by, the acceptable number kept on being narrowed, making more and more people eligible to take the drugs that treated the number.

Finish reading: https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/understanding-blood-pressure-in-a

In 2018, researchers from the University of Helsinki spent half a year with the Kaluli people in Papua New Guinea. What stunned the observers most was what occurred every night after dusk.

Before sleep, Kaluli children would gather around the communal flame and voice aloud their scary or hurtful events from the day—falls, grief, or even bad dreams. The elders didn’t interrupt them. They didn’t try to immediately soothe or shush them. They simply listened until the child’s breathing naturally calmed.

The Kaluli call this “night purging”—releasing dreads before slumber so the mind can relax.

Western science actually backs this up. Voicing fears aloud settles the mind and nervous system. Stifling them—which is what many of us do when we say “don’t dwell on bad stuff before bed”—actually keeps the stress loop active, forcing the body to process that lingering fear throughout the night.

(Tom: There is a huge difference between “dwelling on bad stuff” and voicing your fears. One is introverting, the other is cathartic.)

As the Kaluli state: “The body rests when the story halts.”

This ancient habit trains children to meet their feelings head-on instead of fleeing from them—the exact opposite of the modern push for “sleep quiet.” It teaches that emotions are meant to be discharged, not stored.

Test it tonight. Voice your darkest thoughts or heaviest stresses of the day out loud—preferably to another who will acknowledge without evaluation or invalidation. Then, simply breathe until your heart rate slows. You will likely sense an instant ease; the mind stops dreading the gloom once the source of that gloom has been titled and released.

Just as vital as naming our fears is being honest with ourselves—letting it all out instead of holding it back. Children naturally voice what they sense, but as grownups, we learn to store it within. It’s time to learn how to let it go.

Last month, Congress introduced legislation that would impose a nationwide ban on geoengineering and atmospheric weather modification, criminalizing activities such as aerosol spraying, cloud seeding, solar radiation management, and other atmospheric interventions designed to alter weather or climate conditions.

The bill, H.R. 7452, titled the Air Quality Act, was introduced February 9 by U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) and referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology.

You can find your Representative here and voice your support for the bill.

If enacted, the legislation would prohibit the injection, release, emission, or dispersal of chemical or biological substances into the atmosphere to alter atmospheric behavior, weather, climate, or sunlight intensity, establishing criminal penalties for individuals or organizations involved in such activities.

More: https://open.substack.com/pub/jonfleetwood/p/federal-bill-would-ban-geoengineering