March 11/Drug Week -- Fresh data on life sciences are presented in the report "Prebiotics, immune function, infection and inflammation: A review of the evidence."

"Beta2-1 fructans are carbohydrate molecules with prebiotic properties. Through resistance to digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract, they reach the colon intact, where they selectively stimulate the growth and/or activity of beneficial members of the gut microbiota," scientists in Southampton, the U.K., report.