OBJECTIVE Immune stimulation through exposure to commensal microbes may protect against allergy development. Oral microbes may be transferred from parents to infants via pacifiers. We investigated whether pacifier cleaning practices affected the risk of allergy development. METHODS A birth-cohort of 184 infants was examined for clinical allergy and sensitization to airborne and food allergens...

[no abstract available]

Despite human claims to superiority, it can be legitimately argued that microbes rule the world. Whether it is an ocean reef, a landfill, or a gastrointestinal tract, invisible communities of highly active and adaptable microbes prosper. Over time, mammalian species developed a symbiosis with microbes that are now important inhabitants not only in the intestines, but also in the mouth, skin, an...

BACKGROUND The microbiota from different body sites are dominated by different major groups of microbes, but the variations within a body site such as the mouth can be more subtle. Accurate predictive models can serve as useful tools for distinguishing sub-sites and understanding key organisms and their roles and can highlight deviations from expected distributions of microbes. Good classificat...

Every human body contains a personalized microbiome that is essential to maintaining health but capable of eliciting disease. The oral microbiome is particularly imperative to health because it can cause both oral and systemic disease. The oral microbiome rests within biofilms throughout the oral cavity, forming an ecosystem that maintains health when in equilibrium. However, certain ecological...