Why antibiotics may soon fail to curb the plague bacterium - and where we can find new strategies
A new review shows that while most infections caused by the Yersinia plague bacterium can currently be treated with antibiotics, concerns about rising antimicrobial resistance mean that we need to come up with new ways to disarm the bacteria instead of killing them.
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Clinical considerations for the next pandemic: challenges facing Japan and strategic preparedness
Multiple global pandemics over the past century – the Spanish influenza (1918), Asian influenza (1957), Hong Kong influenza (1968), H1N1 influenza (2009), and COVID‑19 (since 2019) – have increasingly underscored the necessity for healthcare systems worldwide to be resilient, rapidly responsive, and forward‑facing.
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Clear but not clean: the hidden life of drinking water in Nigeria
In many communities across Nigeria, clear water is assumed to be safe. Transparency, both literal and visual, has become shorthand for purity. My recent research in Ede, southwestern Nigeria, began with a simple but uncomfortable question: what are people actually drinking?
Can we make a vaccine against the next Disease X in 100 days?
The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the deadliest events in modern history. Estimated to have killed over 25 million people worldwide and caused trillions of dollars in economic damage, the devastation caused by this virus was both astronomical and unforgettable.
A journey to run a polymerase chain reaction in the kitchen
Did you know an air fryer can thermocycle?
Under the Lens video series
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 3
Is raw milk safe to drink? Prof Emmanuel Adukwu is joined by Prof Nicola Holden and Dr Gil Domingue for a conversation on the societal, scientific, and health implications of this pertinent question.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 2
In our second episode, Dr Callum Cooper joins Professor Emmanuel Adukwu to talk about all things bacteriophage, from alternatives to antibiotics, social impact, and regulation.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 1
In our first episode, Professor Raquel Peixoto joins Professor Jack Gilbert for a deep dive into coral reefs, microbes, and the future of our planet.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 3
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 2
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 1
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The Microbiologist provides detailed information on the latest research, topics, reviews, events and news on a wide variety of microbiological topics.
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Reversing the threat: How to stop measles from spreading again
As the Global Virus Network issues a stark warning over the significant resurgence of measles in the US and globally, William J. Moss, Sten H. Vermund, and Maggie L. Bartlett set out what needs to be done if the preventable harms of the current surge are to be reversed.
Why chromogenic media matters when testing for invasive pathogens: Could the cheapest plate be an expensive decision?
Chris Armstrong, President of Microbiology, Thermo Fisher Scientific, argues that laboratories should stop judging fungal culture media on unit price alone.
Disease X and the limits of voluntary multilateralism
Disease X is less a biological uncertainty than a governance stress test. The real question is whether the WHO Pandemic Agreement has corrected the failures exposed during COVID-19.
Q&A: Meet Letters in Applied Microbiology junior editor Verônica Ortiz Alvarenga
We caught up with Verônica Ortiz Alvarenga, a food engineer and Professor at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, who is one of the newest Junior Editors with Letters in Applied Microbiology.
From microbial processes to biofilm control: our interview with LAM deputy editor Marciane Magnani
We catch up with food microbiologist Professor Marciane Magnani of the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil who has just been appointed as a Deputy Editor of Letters in Applied Microbiology.
From one bench to another: Representing early-career scientists at Parliament’s Voice of the Future
Tyler Myers, an MPhil Candidate at the University of Cambridge, reports back from the Royal Society of Biology’s Voice of the Future event at Parliament, where he served as a guest panelist representing Applied Microbiology International.
Head impacts associated with altered gut microbiome in football players
Non-concussive head impacts—hits to the head that don’t cause clinically detectable symptoms—are correlated with subsequent changes to the gut microbiome in a small sample of US collegiate football players, according to a new study.
Scientists use ultrasound to destroy influenza A and COVID-19 viruses without damaging human cells
Researchers have discovered that high-frequency ultrasound waves similar to those used in medical exams can eliminate viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 without damaging human cells. Acoustic resonance causes structural changes in viral particles until they rupture and become inactivated.
New kind of CRISPR could treat viral infection and cancer by shredding sick cells’ DNA
A new technology uses a relative of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to kill target cells. When activated by a specific, programmable genetic target, the Cas12a2 protein rips a cell’s genome apart. Researchers programmed Cas12a2 to kill virus-infected cells or cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched.
Food security
DNA analyses uncover what is hiding under the cap plaguing the white button mushroom industry
Researchers have uncovered that bacterial blotch is not caused by a single disease-causing bacteria or pathogen as originally learned, but by a complex of pathogenic bacterial species that thrive in the indoor controlled, humid environments where they are grown.
Clean Water
How river DNA can track fish, frogs, fungi and human feces — all at once
A single scoop of water from an Irish river revealed evidence not only of Ireland’s only frog species, but also signs of the dreaded B. dendrobatidis fungus, marking the first time this devastating amphibian disease has been spotted in the country and exposing a previously unknown risk to Ireland’s frog population.
Light without electricity? Glowing algae could make it possible
Researchers successfully turned on the “light switch” in algae and kept them lit up using simple chemical solutions. The finding opens the door for future technologies such as autonomous robots that can operate in dark environments and living sensors for water quality.
