Researchers are reporting that new insights into the composition of human breast milk may lead to new ways to prevent and treat stomach illnesses and other diseases in babies and adults. An article on the topic is scheduled for the Sept. 29 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the primary immune sensor that detects the presence of stomach viruses in the body. They show that the sensor – a protein called MDA-5 – triggers an immune response that revs up the body's defenses to fight off the infection.

Scientists have isolated a new bacterium in pigs' stomachs thanks to a pioneering technique, offering hope of new treatments to people who suffer with stomach ulcers, according to research published in the June issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

Helicobacter pylori is one tough bug. It can survive in the human stomach, a zone with a pH somewhere between that of lemon juice and battery acid. Now researchers have discovered how an H. pylori toxin gets into cells, a feat that helps the bacterium live in one of the most inhospitable environments in the body.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with chronic enterovirus infection of the stomach