Smoking is a risk factor for a broad range of gastrointestinal diseases independent of alcohol consumption.

Microbial populations are continuous along the gastrointestinal tract, with increased transmission in colorectal cancer and rheumatoid arthritis patients.

A link between chronic stress and organ dysfunction is explained by the gateway reflex, in which brain micro-inflammation at specific vessels establishes a new neural pathway to induce fatal organ failure particularly in gastrointestine and heart.

In contrast to previous post-mortem or fixed tissue histochemical reports, live calcium and mitochondrial imaging data suggest that the enteric nervous system is not generally affected in Parkinson's disease patients.

Contact with bacteria and subsequent hypoxia promotes functional maturation of the immature gastrointestinal tract.

Using genetics, it is possible to uncouple higher adiposity from its adverse metabolic effects and show that some obesity-associated conditions may benefit from treating the metabolic effects alone, whilst others may benefit more from weight loss.

Onsite sanitation maybe insufficient to interrupt transmission of enteric infections in high-burden urban settings, though risk of some infections may be reduced among children protected from birth.

Analysing a compilation of individual-level data gathered across the seven Ebola Virus Disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reveals factors that contribute to the spread of the disease and mortality.

The ABO and RhD blood groups are associated with disease-wide susceptibility differences.

Smoking, measured by both initiation and intensity, are significantly associated with an elevated expression level of ACE2 in multiple human tissues/organs, subsequently increasing the susceptibility and severity of COVID-19.