Animals

Image of a turkey close-up next to a headshot image of Kahina Boukherroub.
Talking with University of Minnesota

Talking turkeys with University of Minnesota

About 46 million turkeys are eaten around Thanksgiving in the United States every year, and Minnesota farmers play a huge role in raising these birds and getting them safely from farm to table. Learn more from Assistant Professor Kahina Boukherroub.

Western lowland gorilla from the Dzanga Sangha Protected Area, Central African Republic. In the foreground is a silverback from a troop whose samples were used to characterize the microbiome of wild gorillas in this study.
Research Brief

Study shows gorillas with heart disease have altered gut microbiomes

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in zoo gorillas, but its origins remain unknown. Researchers from the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with national and international partners, studied the trillions of microbes that live in the gastrointestinal tracts of gorillas to find out if there’s a link between the gut microbiome and heart disease. 

Animals Story Archive

Topic Experts

Montserrat Torremorell

Professor, Department of Veterinary Population Medicine

Marla Spivak

Professor, Department of Entomology
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