Researchers are discovering the development of long-term diseases — including cancer — can be triggered by a complex combination of genetics, virus dynamics and environmental factors. Studies of diseases like those related to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, are revealing not only how illnesses arise and progress but also ways in which they could be treated or prevented. Work contributing to deeper understanding of the root causes of diseases and other disorders and how to combat them is being done in ASU’s Biodesign Center for Health Through Microbiomes, directed by Fulton Schools Professor Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, an environmental engineer. She and her team are studying the intricate workings of ecosystems in the body to determine how they are tied to our health. The research has led to promising results, such as transplants of human gut bacteria that could help children with autism. (Access to the full content of the Arizona Republic is accessible only to subscribers.)