Bagamian Scientific Consulting, LLC

Name: Bagamian Scientific Consulting, LLC
Address: 300 E University Avenue, Suite 120, Gainesville, FL, 32601, US
Telephone: +18189030811

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Bagamian Scientific Consulting is committed to improving the scientific process from start to finish. We specialize in grant proposals and journal articles.

We help our clients obtain funding, complete their research, and communicate their findings.

10/30/2026

Throwback to Halloween 2025: could your sweet tooth start in your gut?

As we devour candy this Halloween, research points to a possible trickster behind sugar cravings: levels of a gut microbe that may be quietly amplifying your sweet tooth.

In early 2025, a study uncovered a connection between a common gut bacterium, Bacteroides vulgatus, and sugar preference. In diabetic mice, lower levels of the microbe led to a stronger preference for sugar. In people, the bacterium was less abundant in patients with diabetes, and lower levels of FFAR4, a gut receptor that influences the microbe, were linked to higher sugar intake.

B. vulgatus produces pantothenate, also known as vitamin B5, which helps trigger release of the gut hormone GLP-1. In the mouse experiments, GLP-1 prompted the liver to release another hormone, FGF21, which acts on the brain to dial down sugar preference. When B. vulgatus levels dropped, this chain weakened and sugar preference grew.

The findings point to a gut-liver-brain pathway through which microbes may shape eating behavior. Supplementing diabetic mice with B. vulgatus or vitamin B5 reduced their sugar preference, suggesting a possible new target for managing diabetes.

Further research is needed. The human findings so far are observational, and the experiments showing cause and effect were done in mice. Clinical studies will be needed to determine whether targeting B. vulgatus, vitamin B5, or FFAR4 could change sugar intake in people.

Published in Nature microbiology. Co-first authors Tingting Zhang and Wei Wang; corresponding authors Shenglong Zhu and Yong Q. Chen, Jiangnan University, and Xinmiao Liang, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01902-8
Coverage: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-candy-cravings-might-be-controlled-by-this-gut-bacterium/

10/27/2026

Urinary tract infections affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year, and growing antibiotic resistance is making some infections increasingly difficult to treat. Researchers at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique - INRS are exploring whether natural compounds could help improve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.

A recent laboratory study found that cranberry juice enhanced the activity of fosfomycin, a common antibiotic used to treat UTIs, inhibiting the growth of 72% of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains tested. Researchers also observed fewer mutations associated with antibiotic resistance when cranberry juice was present.

The findings suggest compounds in cranberry juice may influence how absorb the antibiotic, potentially allowing more of the drug to enter bacterial cells. However, further research is needed to explore whether drinking cranberry juice will produce the same effects in people.

The results of this study add to the growing body of research exploring how compounds may help address antibiotic resistance.

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-surprising-way-cranberry-juice-could-fight-antibiotic-resistance/

10/23/2026

Two long-legged brothers named Gary and Shaggy have become the first domestic cats with genetically confirmed Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder best known in humans. The condition can affect the eyes, heart, blood vessels, and skeleton, and is often associated with long limbs.

Researchers at Cornell University and Ghent University found that each brother carried alterations in both copies of FBN1, which encodes fibrillin-1, a protein that helps maintain the structure and strength of connective tissues. As kittens, their legs stood out as unusually long, and later exams revealed eye abnormalities and enlargement of the aorta, all consistent with Marfan syndrome.

In humans, a change in just one copy of FBN1 can cause Marfan syndrome, while having two altered copies can be associated with more severe disease. However, the researchers found that the variant in the cats did not completely prevent normal gene function. This finding may help explain why the cats survived into adulthood, although the precise relationship between the variant and their clinical outcomes requires further study.

The discovery lays the groundwork for diagnosing Marfan syndrome in cats and could help veterinarians identify additional cases. It also offers an opportunity to investigate how the remaining function of an altered gene influences disease severity.

Published in Scientific Reports. First author Shawna R. Cook; corresponding authors Jacquelyn M. Evans (Cornell University) and Bart J. G. Broeckx (Ghent University).

Article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-70702-3
Coverage: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261013015801.htm

10/20/2026

About 12% of cancer cases worldwide are linked to infections, and many of these cases are preventable, according to a new analysis.

Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO on Cancer analyzed global cancer data to estimate the number of cases attributable to 12 infectious agents classified as carcinogens. They found that infections were linked to an estimated 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024.

Helicobacter pylori and human papillomavirus (HPV) were the two leading infectious agents, responsible for an estimated 760,000 and 750,000 cancer cases, respectively. Hepatitis B virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and hepatitis C virus accounted for nearly all of the remaining burden. Evidence linking Epstein-Barr virus to additional cancer types has also grown since previous estimates were published.

The burden was not distributed evenly worldwide. About three-quarters of infection-attributable cancer cases occurred in low- and middle-income countries, with Eastern Asia accounting for 42% of the global total.

Infection control remains an important component of global cancer prevention. Vaccination, screening, testing, treatment, and other established prevention strategies could help reduce the burden of cancers associated with infections.

Published in The Lancet Oncology. First author Harriet Rumgay; senior author Gary M. Clifford.

Article: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(26)00307-4
Coverage: https://www.sciencealert.com/just-5-infections-responsible-for-more-than-2-million-new-cancer-cases-annually

10/16/2026

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to grow, surpassing 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,000 deaths as of October 11, 2026, with cases also reported in Kenya and Uganda. It is the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC’s history and the second largest worldwide, after the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic. The cause is Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), a less common species of ebolavirus for which no approved vaccine or treatment is currently available.

Many patients are dying in their communities before reaching healthcare facilities, delaying diagnosis, case isolation, and the identification of additional exposures. Ongoing conflict, healthcare worker shortages, funding gaps, and community mistrust have further complicated response efforts.

Amid these challenges, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations - CEPI announced that preparations are underway for the Tumaini Phase 2/3 clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates against BDBV, pending ethical and regulatory approval. The trial will include Ervebo, a vaccine approved for the Zaire species behind the West Africa epidemic, with at least two BDBV-specific candidates expected to follow.

With the outbreak still expanding, the trial could provide urgently needed data on which vaccines protect against BDBV, addressing a critical gap while response teams work to contain transmission.

Coverage: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/ebola-cases-top-9000-dr-congo-outbreak

10/13/2026

A recent Spanish study provides evidence that consistently eating tomato paste may influence how well your brain works—potentially improving selective attention and even giving a small boost to associative memory.

Tomatoes are a major dietary source of lycopene, an antioxidant carotenoid that can cross the blood-brain barrier and is thought to reduce brain inflammation. This randomized crossover study followed 42 healthy middle-aged adults through two 3-month diets: one adding an average of 35 g of tomato paste daily and one low in lycopene.

On the tomato paste diet, participants performed better on measures of selective attention and showed a small improvement in associative memory. Laboratory tests also showed a substantial increase in lycopene in participants’ blood during the tomato paste period, and a borderline increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a brain growth protein.

In a subgroup of 14 participants, functional MRI was used to examine how different brain regions communicated with one another while participants were at rest. Scans after the tomato diet showed reduced connectivity within two brain networks. However, as the imaging substudy was small and exploratory, these findings should be considered preliminary.

Further studies are needed to explore whether these brain changes are clinically relevant or sustainable over time. Regardless, the findings suggest that regular tomato consumption may help support cognitive function in midlife.

Published in Antioxidants. First author Ricardo López-Solís; senior author Rosa M. Lamuela-Raventós, University of Barcelona.

Article: https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15050644
Coverage: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-had-people-eat-tomato-paste-for-3-months-their-brain-scans-looked-different

10/09/2026

When conditions become unfavorable, malaria parasites may shift their strategy from growth to transmission. The ISGLOBAL - Barcelona Institute for Global Health has identified a molecular pathway that helps Plasmodium falciparum, the species responsible for most severe malaria cases and deaths, make this shift under stressful conditions.

When infecting human blood cells, P. falciparum must balance two competing priorities: continuing to multiply within the host or developing into gametocytes, the forms that can be transmitted to mosquitoes. Researchers exposed the parasite to three conditions representing environmental stress—nutrient limitation, treatment with the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin (DHA), and simulated fever—and found that all three activated the same gene regulatory pathway.

The researchers also found that the AP2-HS protein regulates the parasite’s stress response. Under stressful conditions, AP2-HS activates the expression of another protein, GDV1, which promotes gametocyte formation. At the same time, GDV1 also triggers production of an RNA molecule that suppresses the activity of the gdv1 gene. This feedback loop allows the parasite to mount a rapid but brief response to stress.
Further genetic experiments tested the pathway’s role. Without AP2-HS, parasites exposed to nutrient limitation, DHA, or elevated temperature were unable to produce viable gametocytes, demonstrating that this pathway links environmental stress to the parasite’s transmission stage. Together, these findings reveal how P. falciparum connects environmental signals to changes in its life cycle, helping explain how the parasite adjusts its investment in transmission when conditions become unfavorable.

Published in Nature microbiology. First author Elisabet Tintó-Font; senior author Alfred Cortés, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

Article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02473-6

Coverage: https://phys.org/news/2026-09-malaria-parasite-boosts-transmission-potential.html

10/06/2026

With more than 250 locally acquired cases reported through Sept. 26, Florida appears to be experiencing its largest dengue outbreak in the continental United States in decades, according to state health officials. Most of the cases are in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa. Officials there and in surrounding counties have declared local emergencies, and mosquito-control efforts have intensified.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Many infections are mild or asymptomatic, but some cause high fever and intense muscle and joint pain. Severe cases can lead to bleeding, shock, and death. One dengue death has been reported during the current outbreak.

Puerto Rico regularly records far more dengue cases than any state, but in the continental United States, Florida usually has the most locally transmitted cases. This year’s outbreak has already surpassed Florida’s previous record of nearly 200 locally acquired cases in 2023 and is approaching the 264 cases reported during Hawaii’s 2015–2016 outbreak. Usually, most dengue cases reported in the continental United States are associated with international travel. However, this year, Florida has reported slightly more locally acquired than travel-associated cases (252 to 245).

Experts say it is hard to pinpoint why cases have surged around Tampa. Possible contributors include travel patterns from endemic areas, little prior immunity among residents, and mosquitoes expanding their range as the climate warms.

Mitigation measures include mosquito control, case surveillance and investigation, and removal of standing water where mosquitoes breed. Individuals in affected areas can reduce their risk by using EPA-registered insect repellents, wearing long sleeves and pants, staying in screened or air-conditioned spaces, and eliminating pooled water around their homes.

Coverage: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-florida-dengue-outbreak-largest-continental.html
Surveillance report:https://www.floridahealth.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/fl-arbovirus-report-w38-2026.pdf

10/02/2026

Spent coffee grounds aren’t just trash anymore—they have been found to be an effective tool for improving water safety.

Two recent studies from Loughborough University demonstrate that coffee can effectively remove heavy metals such as lead, copper, and zinc from water. By heating used coffee grounds to create a highly porous biochar, researchers were able to remove up to 98% of lead from . The raw coffee waste required no processing to successfully remove metals at lower concentrations, making it a low-cost and accessible solution.

Global coffee consumption exceeds 176 million bags per year, producing a massive waste stream that can be repurposed for . As water contamination remains a major challenge, innovative reuse of everyday waste offers promising solutions.

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-12-coffee-contaminated.html

09/29/2026

A new study suggests that antibiotic resistance may extend across the boundaries between livestock, wildlife, and the environment.

Researchers analyzed the gut microbiomes of 875 wild house mice collected from farms across Germany, examining how environmental conditions, land use, livestock density, and individual characteristics influenced the antibiotic resistance genes found in the mice.

When they compared the mice's resistance profiles with existing data from cattle, pigs, and chickens, they found that around 50% of the resistance genes identified in livestock were also present in wild mice. Environmental and livestock-related factors showed stronger associations with the mice’s resistance profiles than individual traits, such as s*x or body condition. These factors explained approximately three times as much variation in the presence of antibiotic resistance genes as those individual-level traits.

The study’s findings suggest that intensive livestock production may influence antibiotic resistance patterns beyond livestock populations, extending into surrounding wildlife. Future research is needed to better understand how human-driven environmental changes shape the distribution of antibiotic resistance beyond clinical and agricultural settings.

Published in Nature Communications. The research involved scientists from the Max Delbrück Center, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-76403-9
Coverage: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-farm-mice-antibiotic-resistance-environmental.html

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Gainesville, FL
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