Robert Quinn

Jan 8, 2025 | nature.com | Bingsen Zhang |Jeffrey Letourneau |Yousi Fu |Douglas V. Guzior |Robert Quinn |Chun-Jun Guo | +3 more

AbstractMetabolites derived from the intestinal microbiota, including bile acids (BA), extensively modulate vertebrate physiology, including development1, metabolism2,3,4, immune responses5,6,7 and cognitive function8. However, to what extent host responses balance the physiological effects of microbiota-derived metabolites remains unclear9,10.

Dec 10, 2024 | nature.com | Robert Quinn |Renata Gomes |Henry de Winton |Jonathan De Sousa |Sebastiano Zane |Brandon Ellis-Frew | +3 more

Individuals with visual impairment (VI) require aids such as white canes and guide dogs to navigate their environments. Modern localisation technologies have the capacity to transform the way individuals with VI navigate surroundings, but they have yet to do so. A critical barrier is the inability of human–machine interfaces to communicate precise navigation instructions non-visually. We present a shape changing haptic interface (Shape) that provides spatial guidance in two dimensions via bending of its body. Individuals with VI and sighted individuals were recruited to locate virtual targets in 3D space using Shape and vibration feedback (Vibration), and sighted individuals were also asked to visually locate targets. Throughout, device orientation and position were tracked in real-time using a virtual reality system. Individuals with VI located targets significantly faster and more efficiently using Shape, than with Vibration, and there were no significant differences in time or efficiency between Shape and natural vision. Moreover, participants scored Shape significantly more positively than Vibration in a Likert user experience survey, while no significant differences were observed between Shape and natural vision. Here, we provide compelling evidence for the application of a new shape-changing haptic interface as part of an effective future digital navigation system for individuals with VI.

Nov 13, 2024 | nature.com | Hao Wu |Douglas V. Guzior |Christian Martin |Robert Quinn

AbstractPopulation studies have shown that the infant’s microbiome and metabolome undergo significant changes in early childhood. However, no previous study has investigated how diverse these changes are across subjects and whether the subject-specific dynamics of some microbes correlate with the over-time dynamics of specific metabolites.

May 10, 2023 | nature.com | Robert Quinn |Christian Martin |Douglas V. Guzior

Most of human microbiome research has focused on analysing faecal samples, which represent the final stop of the digestive journey. Two recent articles use a novel sampling approach to capture luminal content at different points during digestion and reveal that the analysis of faecal samples tells only a fraction of the story.