Microbe Talk

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbiology has been in the news that month. On this month’s episode Laura and Matt are discussing superdrug sniffer dogs, koalas and chlamydia and Valley Fever.Links to the news stories discussed during this episode can be found below: 'Carnivorous' micro-organisms: www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/wo…bably-carnivoreHPV Vaccine: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49522669Saving koalas at the University of Nottingham: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british…oalas-n38q3f0brCommon cold stopped by experimental approach: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49682583Climate change could increase spread of Valley fever: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/…0916114034.htmSniffing out superbugs: vancouversun.com/news/local-news/…/health-49522669Zombie fungus ant:www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49615571

Canine parvovirus is a highly infectious virus that kills thousands of dogs every year. The disease emerged in the 1970s and spread unchecked, causing a global epidemic in 1978. While the epidemic was halted due to the development of a vaccine, outbreaks do still occur.On this month’s Microbe Talk, Matt talks to Dr Colin Parrish, a veterinary virologist based at Cornell University in New York, USA. Along with the emergence of canine parvovirus, Colin discusses the problems it can cause and what his lab are doing to tackle the disease.

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbiology has been in the news that month. On this month’s episode Laura and Matt are discussing glowing microbes, ancient microbes, microbes in elk and microbes in the brain.Links to the news stories discussed in the episode can be found below:www.inews.co.uk/news/health/river…resistance-genes/www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/us/bra…amoeba-death.htmlwww.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/s…ever-worldwide/www.ktvz.com/news/oregon-hunter…s-jan-1/1107313914www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49262255www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/ref…an-glowing/

This month on the podcast, we spoke with Dr Mayri Alessandra Diaz De Rienzo, Ale for short, who is lecturer in Biotechnology at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. Ale is currently in Quebec, Canada, visiting the lab of Professor Eric Déziel on a Microbiology Society Research Visit Grant. Ale has travelled to Canada to research how biosurfactants can work with antibiotics to make infections easier to treat, and how they might be able to improve the lifespan of antibiotics.Find out more about Microbiology Society grants: https://microbiologysociety.org/education-outreach/grants-prizes.htmlPresent your PhD research at the Fleming showcase: https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmicrobiologysociety.org%2Fevent%2Fannual-conference%2Fannual-conference-2020.html%23tab-2&token=8eaa3f-1-1565346710498

This is the first episode of MicroNews, where we discuss the times microbiology, and microbiologists, have been on tv, in the papers and trending online.This month, Laura and Matt talk about the HPV vaccine, fungal diseases and antimicrobial resistance. We also hear from Professor Sally Bloomfield who talks about the link between allergies and hygiene. Links to the news stories discussed in the episode can be found at:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48881008https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7219621/A-new-swathe-vital-antifungal-drugs-stopped-working.htmlhttps://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/fungus-behind-deadly-bat-disease-found-in-northern-california-66111https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-06/ncsu-srt061319.phphttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/antibiotic-resistance-superbug-bacteria-pharma-infection-a8996941.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/25/too-much-cleanliness-not-bad-for-health-report-on-hygiene-saysFor information on the International Meeting on Arbovir

Over the last decade or so, the area of microbiome research has exploded, and scientists are just starting to realise just how important the gut microbiome is for our health. However, despite the increased interest in gut microbiome research, the vast majority of studies concern bacteria, and microorganisms like yeasts are conspicuous by their absence in the literature.

This month on Microbe Talk is the second episode of Domino Effect, the podcast series where a Microbiology Society member is interviewed by another microbiologist who they have never met before. In this episode, Dr Lena Ciric, senior lecturer at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at UCL is interviewed by Sarah Jones, PhD student studying Geomicrobiology at Birkbeck and UCL.Follow Lena on Twitter: @drlenaciricFollow Sarah on Twitter: @Sarah_Jokes

Sometimes the big picture can be too big. Microbes are everywhere, and sometimes looking at the small things can answer questions you weren’t expecting to ask.Arjan Kortholt is Associate Professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Arjan’s original work was studying chemotaxis; the movement of cells up or down substance concentration gradients, for example when white blood cells are chasing pathogens. However, whilst studying the proteins involved in chemotaxis, he found they are related to Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s has traditionally been studied by medical doctors, but now Arjan is studying the disease from a new, microbiological angle; using techniques and tools from microbiology to help find a cure.

Some highlights from this year's Microbiology Society Annual Conference, held in Belfast.

On this month’s podcast, we discuss the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans with Dr Liz Ballou from the University of BirminghamIn January 2019, news broke that two patients at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow had tragically passed away. When tested, both patients showed signs of a fungal infection caused by Cryptococcus neoformans. One of the patients’ deaths was unrelated to the infection, however it was a contributing factor to the death of the second patient.This month we talked to fungal geneticist Dr Ballou; she researches how human fungal pathogens, specifically C. neoformans, survive and cause disease in the host. We discussed C. neoformans research, the lifecycle of the fungus, and the disease it can cause.

In 2018, influenza made headlines, with the 2017/18 flu season heralded on of the 'worst ever' for the National Health Service with the highest number of influenza-related hospital admissions since 2010. This flu season has been markedly different. But why is there so much variation? This month, we spoke with Dr John McCauley, Director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, at the Francis Crick Institute, and Dr Othmar Engelhardt, Principal Scientist in the Division of Virology at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control. In this episode, we discuss how different subtypes and strains of influenza can have different effects in the population, and how microbiologists are working on preparing vaccines for the upcoming flu season. For more information about influenza, why not read our blog Déjà flu: can science help the NHS cope with the annual burden of respiratory infections? from the Hot Topic lecture at the Microbiology Society Annua

This is our first episode of a new series called 'Domino Effect'. In this episode, Lena (@drlenaciric) interviews Paul (@PaulHoskisson) about his research history, his hobbies and the importance of science communication. Next time it will be Lena's turn in the hot seat!If you would like to get involved in a future episode of Domino Effect, e-mail l.cox@microbiologysociety.orgTo book a place at the Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2019: microbiologysociety.org/event/annual-…nference.html

The panic that sets in just before taking the stand at a conference is all too common. Wouldn’t it be great if there was some way to get presenting experience in a relaxed, friendly environment?The Junior Awards for Microbiology (JAM Talks) are the monthly seminar series based in Birmingham that allows early career researchers to gain experience presenting to an audience of their peers.This month, we talked to Alice Lanne and Anja Djokic - both part of the JAM Talks Organising Committee - to discuss their involvement in the talks and their views on the importance of presenting experience for early career researchers.More Informationwww.thejamtalks.comwww.twitter.com/jam_talksthejamtalks@gmail.comwww.microbepost.org/2018/11/21/junior-awards-in-microbiologyWhy Microbiology MattersTo celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2020, we’re inviting members to nominate the discovery or event that best showcases why microbiology matters and helps us demonstrate the impact of microbiologists past, present and future.To make y

This month, we spoke with Dr Alexandre de Menezes, soil microbiologist. Last year, Dr de Menezes went to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to see how the nuclear disaster is impacting the microbes in the soil, over 30 years later. We will cover what the soil microbiome is, why is it important and how microbes are affected by radiation

This month, we've caught up with microbiologist Ruth MacLaren, owner and founder of Sciencedipity. This May, Ruth was at the Eden Project running a number of activities as part of their launch week for their new exhibit Invisible Worlds. To find out more about the Invisible Worlds exhibit: https://microbepost.org/2018/06/20/invisible-worlds-at-the-eden-project/To find out more about The Microbiology Society's engagement and outreach grants, see: https://microbiologysociety.org/education-outreach/get-involved.html

Malawi, in Sub-Saharan Africa, has the highest incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in the world. Nearly all cases of cervical cancer are caused by human papillomavirus, or HPV.Earlier this year, the Microbiology Society funded one of our members, Dr Ramya Bhatia, to travel to Malawi as part of a research collaboration between Nkhoma Hospital and the University of Edinburgh.In this podcast, Ramya talks to us about her time in Malawi, and Nkhoma's highly successful cervical cancer screening programme.Image credit: Derek Brumby/Thinkstock

This month, we’re bringing you a real highlight from our Annual Conference in Edinburgh: a live discussion about the state of microbiome research.A panel of experts gave their views on whether microbiome research is an opportunity, or whether it’s been over-hyped.It was a really lively event with a great audience, and it was chaired by our very own Dr Benjamin Thompson.Panelists:Prof Julian Marchesi, Imperial College LondonProf Jim Prosser, University of AberdeenDr Lindsay Hall, University of East AngliaDr Thorunn Helgason, University of York

Have you ever wondered about the kinds of microbes that are present in your kitchen? In the fruit bowl or the fridge, on your chopping boards or cleaning cloths?Good Germs Bad Germs is a citizen science project from the University of Oxford, allowing people to experiment on the microbial life in their kitchens and to visualise the results.This month, we went to Oxford to visit one of the households taking part in the project, and spoke to researchers Dr Jamie Larimer and Dr Beth Greenhough about they've found.More information at www.goodgerms.orgImages courtesy of the researchers

In 2008, researchers from Google announced that they could predict outbreaks of the flu up to two weeks before the US authorities, by monitoring people's Google search behaviour.The algorithm tracked searches for flu symptoms and remedies, which would increase in the build-up to an outbreak. Flu is a serious disease that can cause up to half a million deaths each year – so Google flu trends caused a lot of excitement in the field when it emerged.But for all the hype, it didn't actually work. In the end, Google flu trends failed pretty badly. So what went wrong?This month, we speak to public health experts and computer scientists to find out, and learn how the field of 'Digital Epidemiology' has moved on to successfully track disease outbreaks online.We hear from Professor Guy Poppy and Dr Sian Thomas from the Food Standards Agency in the UK about a tool to track norovirus using tweets, and all the #vomit that entails.And we speak to Professor Alessandro Vespignani from Northeastern University in the US about

Air pollution is a big problem. It's our single largest environmental health risk, and causes an eighth of all global deaths worldwide.We know that air pollution increases respiratory diseases and the risk of infections like pneumonia. But now, new research suggests air pollution may alter the properties of bacteria themselves, in some potentially worrying ways.This month, we spoke to Dr Julie Morrissey from the University of Leicester about the study, and what it means for our health.Image credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources / Flickr