Technology

HILL’S PET NUTRITION AND HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCHER DEEPEN COLLABORATION TO ADVANCE PET MICROBIOME SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

Published

1 year ago

May 27, 2025

New web portal launched to give researchers unprecedented access to microbiome data to improve pet and human health

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ahead of Pet Appreciation Week (June 1-7), Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a global leader in science-led nutrition, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher Dr. Curtis Huttenhower are proud to announce a strengthened collaboration and launch of a comprehensive new web portal for the One Health Microbiome Resource (OHMR).

The web portal serves as a central resource across academia and industry, fostering dialogue and providing valuable resources, including standardized protocols and computational tools, to study the role of the microbiome in maintaining pet health and understanding disease. It also provides the first centralized repository for studies of the pet gut microbiome, featuring over 2,000 samples spanning diverse demographics and clinical diagnoses. This combination of information, data, and resources will help to fuel groundbreaking research in this critical area. The free exchange of knowledge within the scientific community fosters collaboration and advances microbiome science by paving the way for new nutritional strategies and therapeutic interventions.

“The launch of the OHMR portal is a testament to the power of collaboration, allowing us to accelerate the pace of scientific research and to translate its findings more rapidly into benefits for both pets and their owners,” said Dr. Huttenhower, Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at Harvard Chan School. “We all love our pets, and understanding their microbiomes can provide insight into not only their health, but our own as well. Our pets’ diets and environments represent a microcosm of human nutrition, and as a result, pets’ microbiomes are a particularly powerful tool for diagnostics, preventative care, and ensuring treatment effectiveness through interactions with food and medicine.”

Building on the team’s pioneering work to create the largest and most comprehensive profiles of human and pet microbiomes publicly available, Dr. Huttenhower and Hill’s continue to leverage their combined expertise to unlock new insights into the interconnected health of pets, their owners, and the environment by integrating these data with information for pet parents, scientists, and veterinarians on how to interpret and get involved with this exciting area of research.

“For over a decade, Hill’s has been deeply invested in pet microbiome research, and the OHMR represents a significant step forward in our commitment to improving pet health,” said Dave Baloga, Executive Vice President of Science & Technology at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. “This dynamic hub provides the scientific community with unprecedented access to data, propelling groundbreaking research and driving innovation in pet nutrition. We’re already seeing the OHMR’s impact, and we’re incredibly excited about its potential to transform the lives of pets for years to come.”

Using OHMR data, Hill’s Pet Nutrition has already funded several groundbreaking studies revealing new insights into the pet gut microbiome. One published recently in the International Society of Microbial Ecology (ISME) Journal details the OHMR’s collection of companion animal gut metagenomes, deepening our understanding of the microscopic world within our pets. This research has significant implications for understanding diseases, supporting the immune system, and even influencing specific microbial chemical activities. An additional study in the journal mSystems, using information from the OHMR, provides the first understanding of how different dietary fiber sources can improve canine health, consistent with findings from human health studies and opening the potential for new product development.

With a 75-year legacy of science-led nutrition, Hill’s Pet Nutrition is pioneering advancements in pet microbiome research. Recognizing the profound impact of the gut microbiome on pet health and disease, Hill’s leverages its world-class Global Pet Nutrition Center and leading-edge technology to explore how nutrition can optimize the microbiome for improved digestion and overall well-being. Scientific research has shown that elements of the gut microbiome can influence both the process and the results of pets’ digestion, and Hill’s is at the forefront of developing nutritional strategies to support these beneficial microbial communities.

“It’s all connected – our pets’ health, our health, and the world around us,” said Baloga. “The gut and skin microbiomes of pets and humans are surprisingly overlapping, and these tiny organisms play a huge role in everything from digestion and immunity to behavior and energy levels. When these microbiomes are disturbed and lose their normal ecological balance, it can lead to all sorts of problems. That’s why Hill’s is so committed to understanding how diet, disease, and the environment affect the pet microbiome. This new research will give us the knowledge we need to help our pets live healthier, happier lives, and we’re excited to share these discoveries with pet owners everywhere.”

To learn more about this important work and its potential to improve the lives of pets and their families, visit onehealthmicrobiome.org.

About Hill’s Pet Nutrition  
Founded more than 75 years ago with an unwavering commitment to science-led pet nutrition, Hill’s Pet Nutrition is on a mission to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between people and their pets. Hill’s is dedicated to pioneering research for dogs and cats using a scientific understanding of their specific needs. As a leading veterinarian recommended pet food brand, knowledge is our first ingredient with nearly 200 veterinarians, PhD nutritionists and food scientists working to develop breakthrough innovations in pet health. Hill’s Prescription Diet therapeutic nutrition plus our everyday wellness product line, Hill’s Science Diet, are sold at vet clinics and pet specialty retailers worldwide. For more information about our products and nutritional philosophy, visit HillsPet.com. 

Media Contact: Stephanie Peplinski, stephanie.peplinski@vml.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hills-pet-nutrition-and-harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health-researcher-deepen-collaboration-to-advance-pet-microbiome-science-and-innovation-302466236.html

SOURCE Hill’s Pet Nutrition

Technology

Agoda Spotlights Six Scenic Road Trip Destinations in Asia

Published

13 seconds ago

June 15, 2026

SINGAPORE, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Digital travel platform Agoda’s latest recommendations highlight destinations where travelers can embark on scenic getaways where the journey itself becomes an integral part of the adventure. With a curated list of unique road trip destinations across Asia, Agoda’s guide offers travelers the flexibility to explore by car, cycling, or motorbike, turning every mile into a memorable experience.

Road trips captivate travelers with the allure of breathtaking views and the opportunity to savor quality time with companions or embrace the solitude of solo travel. The journey transforms into an experience in itself, offering the freedom to pause and explore hidden gems along the way. With the flexibility to start their trips whenever they choose, travelers can infuse spontaneity and adventure into their travels, making each road trip a unique story waiting to unfold.

Below are Agoda’s curated recommendations for travelers seeking a unique road trip destination in Asia.

Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam
Often explored by motorbike, travelers can expect dramatic mountain landscapes with terraced rice fields cascading down hillsides and local villages dotting the scenery. The Ha Giang Loop offers a unique blend of cultural immersion and natural beauty, making it a captivating road trip destination. The winding roads and breathtaking vistas provide an unforgettable experience for those seeking adventure.

Taroko Gorge, Taiwan
This road trip features breathtaking marble cliffs, deep gorges, and lush forests, making it one of Asia’s most spectacular drives. Travelers can marvel at the natural beauty of Taroko Gorge, where the landscape offers a stunning backdrop for exploration. The route provides numerous opportunities to stop and appreciate the serene environment, making it a must-visit for nature enthusiasts.

Shimanami Kaido, Japan
The Shimanami Kaido is a cyclist’s paradise, offering a stunning island-hopping route across the Seto Inland Sea. This journey connects six islands with a series of bridges, each providing panoramic views of the ocean and surrounding landscapes. Travelers can enjoy the unique experience of cycling over the sea, with opportunities to explore charming coastal towns, savor local cuisine, and immerse themselves in the tranquil beauty of Japan’s inland sea.

Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
Known for its surreal, otherworldly terrain, Spiti Valley offers rugged landscapes, pristine lakes, and ancient monasteries at high altitudes. The road trip through this region promises a journey through time, with the chance to explore remote villages and experience the unique culture of the area. The dramatic scenery and sense of isolation make it a truly unique destination.

Flores Island, Indonesia
With diverse volcanic landscapes, lush rice paddies, and access to Komodo National Park’s unique scenery, Flores Island offers a road trip filled with natural wonders. Travelers can explore the island’s rich biodiversity and enjoy the vibrant landscapes that change with every turn. The journey promises an adventure through one of Indonesia’s most captivating regions.

Jeju Island, South Korea
Jeju Island’s volcanic landscapes, dramatic coastlines, waterfalls, and lava tubes create diverse natural beauty. The road trip around the island offers a chance to explore its unique geological features and enjoy the serene environment. Travelers can immerse themselves in the island’s charm and discover hidden gems along the way.

Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand
This route offers stunning mountain scenery winding through hill tribe country with hot springs and misty peaks. The Mae Hong Son Loop provides a journey through Thailand’s cultural heartland, with opportunities to engage with local communities and enjoy the natural beauty. The road trip promises a blend of adventure and relaxation in a picturesque setting.

Krishna Rathi, Associate Vice President at Agoda, shared, “Road trips are a fantastic way to experience both the journey and the destination. Whether you’re chasing adrenaline along the Ha Giang Loop, or enjoying the captivating vistas of Taroko Gorge, Agoda empowers travelers to explore the world with ease and affordability, offering a seamless blend of accommodations and activities that enrich every road trip experience.“

Travelers seeking an unforgettable road trip can browse over 300,000 activities, along with more than 6 million holiday properties and over 130,000 flight routes, all of which can be combined in the same booking. Discover the best deals on Agoda’s mobile app or visit Agoda.com for more.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/agoda-spotlights-six-scenic-road-trip-destinations-in-asia-302797476.html

SOURCE Agoda

Technology

fileAI Expands into Japan with Strategic Partnership with JRE VENTURES

Published

16 seconds ago

June 15, 2026

Partnership marks fileAI’s entry into Japan, bringing enterprise-grade agentic AI to one of Japan’s most forward-thinking infrastructure organizations

SINGAPORE, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — fileAI, the AI-native intelligence platform, announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with JRE VENTURES PTE. LTD., the corporate venture capital arm supporting innovation and startup collaboration opportunities across the JR East Group. The collaboration marks fileAI’s formal expansion into Japan and signals the company’s commitment to building a dedicated local team in Japan – a critical milestone as the organization scales its global footprint.

The partnership will see fileAI and JRE VENTURES explore opportunities to deploy its governed AI platform for data preparation and automation within JR East Group companies, beginning with initiatives related to the digitisation and restructuring of legacy contractual and operational documents. As part of the partnership, JRE VENTURES will also make a strategic investment in fileAI, underscoring its confidence in the company’s vision and technology roadmap.

Turning Legacy Documents into a Living Intelligence Layer

At the heart of the partnership is a mission to modernise how JR East Group companies may manage vast archives of historical contracts and documentation in the future. Using fileAI’s proprietary AI agents, the parties aim to transform static, paper-based and legacy digital records into searchable and structured knowledge assets helping organizations unlock value that has long been locked in siloed files and systems. The program delivers four foundational capabilities:

Digitization of historical contracts and documents — converting physical and legacy files into high-fidelity digital assetsAI-powered extraction — automatically identifying key terms, clauses, obligations, and metadata from unstructured textCentralized intelligent repository — enabling future retrieval, search, and reuse of contractual knowledge within and potentially across organizationsContract intelligence and analytics — unlocking future reporting, risk insights, and renewal forecasting capabilities at enterprise scale

The long-term vision is to create a living contract intelligence layer – one that could reduce manual document hunting, improve knowledge accessibility, and support more intelligent operational decision-making across organizations.

Leadership Perspectives

“Japan is a pivotal market for fileAI, and JRE is exactly the kind of partner we envisioned building with here. Their appetite for innovation, combined with the scale of their operations, makes this the perfect proving ground for what AI agents can do for enterprises. We are proud to be planting our flag in Japan alongside a truly visionary organization.”

— Christian Schneider, CEO, fileAI

“At JRE VENTURES, we are continuously exploring how emerging technologies can enhance the efficiency and resilience of JR East Group operations. fileAI’s approach to AI-driven file processing represents a meaningful advancement in how enterprise data can be structured and utilised. Through this partnership, we aim to validate practical use cases and contribute to the broader adoption of enterprise AI in Japan and across Asia Pacific.”

— Junichi Eto, Managing Director, JRE VENTURES

Building for Japan: A Long-Term Commitment

The partnership with JRE VENTURES is the cornerstone of fileAI’s broader Japan strategy. The company is actively building a local team in Tokyo, with plans to hire across sales, engineering, and customer success functions over the coming months. fileAI is committed to developing deep local expertise and nurturing relationships that are grounded in an understanding of Japan’s unique enterprise landscape.

Japan represents one of the world’s largest concentrations of complex, file-heavy enterprise operations, spanning rail, finance, manufacturing, and government. fileAI sees an extraordinary opportunity to partner with Japan’s most innovative institutions as they navigate the AI transition, and is dedicated to being a trusted, long-term presence in the market.

About fileAI

fileAI is the enterprise intelligence company behind fileForge, the leading platform for complex business process automation. By turning complex files into structured, validated data with full decision traceability, fileForge gives AI agents the reasoning and confidence to act inside real enterprise operations.

Trusted by global enterprises including MS&AD, Toshiba, PwC, KPMG, Nippon Paint, and Keppel, fileAI has processed over 1 billion files across finance, insurance, supply chain, healthcare, and operations, delivering governed automation and contextual reuse for the world’s most complex workflows.

For more information, visit www.file.ai.

About JRE VENTURES PTE. LTD.

JRE VENTURES PTE. LTD. is the corporate venture capital arm established to support startup collaboration and innovation initiatives related to the JR East Group. Based in Singapore, the company works with startups across Southeast Asia and other global markets, supporting business development opportunities in areas such as retail, advertising, logistics, real estate, AI, travel, and digital transformation.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/fileai-expands-into-japan-with-strategic-partnership-with-jre-ventures-302799213.html

SOURCE fileAI

Technology

Technology Leads Insurance Education: Big Jump SEO Partners with Three Major Insurance Platforms to Enhance VHIS Information Quality with Latest Gemini AI Technology

Published

20 seconds ago

June 15, 2026

HONG KONG, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Leading digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) expert Big Jump SEO Solutions today announced a strategic partnership with three renowned local insurance education platforms: VHIS101, HKVHIS and MoneyHK101. This collaboration will fully integrate Google’s latest Gemini AI technology to optimize and elevate the quality of knowledge-sharing for the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) and various insurance products, providing Hong Kong citizens with more precise, accessible, and timely insurance information.

With continuous updates to VHIS policies and rapid changes in the healthcare market, public demand for clear, objective insurance information has become increasingly urgent. Leveraging its deep foundation in digital technology, Big Jump SEO Solutions will deeply integrate Gemini AI’s powerful natural language processing and big data analytics capabilities into the content creation and optimization workflows of the partner platforms. Utilizing Gemini AI technology, the platforms can quickly untangle complex insurance terms and claims procedures while ensuring regulatory compliance and accuracy. This information will be transformed into easy-to-understand educational articles, infographic cheat sheets, and intelligent interactive Q&As, significantly lowering the barrier for the public to understand insurance products.

The three participating platforms each bring unique strengths to the partnership: VHIS101 and HKVHIS have long focused on VHIS policies, product comparisons, and enrollment strategies, while MoneyHK101 comprehensively covers personal finance and general insurance knowledge.

A spokesperson for Big Jump SEO Solutions stated: “The core of insurance education lies in ‘trust’ and ‘clarity’. We are thrilled to partner with these three outstanding platforms. By introducing the latest Gemini AI technology, we can not only enhance content production efficiency but also conduct deep optimization for search engines. This ensures that citizens in need can access the most authoritative and valuable insurance knowledge immediately when searching online, truly achieving technology-empowered inclusive finance.”

Looking ahead, Big Jump SEO Solutions and the three insurance education platforms will continue to deepen the application of AI technology in the InsurTech (insurance technology) sector. Both sides will collaborate closely to launch a wider variety of intelligent tools, driving the digital transformation of the Hong Kong insurance market and reshaping the public’s perception of personal health protection and wealth management.

About Big Jump SEO Solutions

Big Jump SEO Solutions is a comprehensive digital marketing company that focuses on providing customized Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content marketing, and online advertising solutions for its clients. With in-depth industry experience and innovative strategies, Big Jump is committed to helping brands enhance their online visibility and stand out in the online market.

Website: bigjumpseo.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/technology-leads-insurance-education-big-jump-seo-partners-with-three-major-insurance-platforms-to-enhance-vhis-information-quality-with-latest-gemini-ai-technology-302799716.html

SOURCE Big Jump SEO Solutions