Illustration of bacteria in the human gut. Credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health Dietary lipids play an essential role in regulating the function of the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal tract, and these luminal interactions contribute to mediating host metabolism. Palmitic acid hydroxy stearic acids (PAHSAs) are a family of lipids with antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, but whether the gut microbiota contributes to their beneficial effects on host metabolism is unknown. In PNAS, researchers report that treating chow-fed female and male germ-free (GF) mice with Read More