Viscera affectum anno: the gut beyond eating behaviours

One of the most pleasurable, yet dangerous, activities of our daily life is eating. But once food has been swallowed, all we can do is to trust our gut. Several remarkable studies published in 2020 have expanded our knowledge on how the gut is intertwined with essential behaviours beyond food. Key advances Bacteria can use neurobiomimicry to coerce worms to eat more of those same bacteria1. The development of sugar preferences in mice depends on brain stem neurons receiving vagal inputs from the gut6. Death by lack of sleep in fruit flies and mice is due to cumulative oxidative stress in the gut9.

Automated summary

Eating is one of the most pleasurable but dangerous activities in daily life, as we must trust our gut once food is swallowed. Recent studies have shown the gut's connection to behaviors beyond food, such as bacteria manipulating animal eating habits, sugar preferences in mice being controlled by brain stem neurons receiving signals from the gut, and lack of sleep causing oxidative stress in the gut leading to death.