Image: Electron microscope images of two bacteria linked to bacterial constipation. Left: Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Top: Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM); Bottom: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)). Right: Akkermansia muciniphila (Top: TEM; Bottom: SEM). These microbes act sequentially to break down the intestinal mucus layer that keeps stool soft and hydrated. Credit: Tomonari Hamaguchi, Nagoya University Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have identified a pair of gut