Researchers at the MRC Toxicology Unit have identified that the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole shows similar gastrointestinal side effects in fruit flies as in humans. For the first time they linked the mitochondria damaging effects of aripiprazole to death of the cells lining the intestine. Feeding the flies with an...

Our gut microbiome is home to a diverse mix of microorganisms that are delicately balanced to preserve many aspects of our health including digestion, immunity and even our mental wellbeing. There are known factors that can impact our microscopic companions such as diet, lifestyle, antibiotic use and environmental...

The work of the Patil lab is featured in this story by the University of Cambridge. It explores how Cambridge scientists are trying to get a grasp on the basic rules these bacteria play by, in the hope of understanding not only what’s going on in there, but how we might be able to use our microbiome to our advantage.

Cross-feeding, or the exchange of nutrients between organisms, is fundamental to the diversity and function of microbial communities. However, pinpointing the corresponding donors and receivers to understand more about this nutrient exchange is challenging as amino acids, nucleotides and more are universal across all...

As someone who hovers between being a millennial and gen-Zer, I often wonder how great thinkers of the past would view the extensive ways in which social media are intertwined with our everyday lives. Plato, for instance, might have thought that these virtual alternatives to real-life interactions are mere shadows of...

The New York Times report on a synthetic human microbiome that has been created for the first time combining 119 species of bacteria naturally found in the human body. Dr Kiran Patil provided his expert comment on the work. Kiran commented: “It is remarkable how a hundred-plus human gut strains form a stable and resilient...

Research from the Patil group published in Science Advances reveals that parts of the TCA cycle, originally thought to only happen in the mitochondria, are happening in the nucleus, closer to the DNA and ready to be dispatched when critical processes of the cell increase their demand, without barriers.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a free annual celebration of science and the arts in South Kensington. The Festival is a collaboration between cultural and research institutions based in and around Exhibition Road in South Kensington, including Imperial College London, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum...

A research focus in our Unit is the link between chemical exposure and adverse outcome pathways. You may have seen the recent news about chemicals in Cambridgeshire water supplies. Our own Dr Kiran Patil was asked to give his view on the 6.30pm BBC One Look East news on the 8th February 2022.

Common medications can accumulate in gut bacteria, altering bacterial function and potentially reducing the medications’ effectiveness. This study started as a collaborative project at EMBL Heidelberg and was concluded in the group of Kiran Patil after his move to the MRC Toxiciology Unit in Cambridge. Read the full...