Of mice and men and their different tolerance to pathogens

Scientists have harnessed microfluidic organs-on-chip technology to model the different anatomical sections of the mouse intestine and their symbiosis with a complex living microbiome in vitro. In a comparative analysis of mouse and human microbiomes, the researchers were able to confirm the commensal bacterium Enterococcus faecium contributes to host tolerance to Salmonella typhimurium infection.