Hidden microbial ecosystems of leatherback turtles offer new insights for Caribbean marine conservation
Scientists studying leatherback sea turtles in Puerto Rico have uncovered distinct microbial communities on the animals, their eggs, and the sand surrounding their nests.
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Buried in the Himalayas: What wetland soil Is telling us about climate change
High up in the Indian Himalayan Region lie wetlands that most of us will never see. New research suggests these quiet, high-altitude wetlands are playing a far bigger, and far more substantial, role in the planet’s carbon budget than anyone expected, say Shweta Kadam and Dr Om Prakash Sharma who sits on AMI’s Climate Action Advisory Group.
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Faster results, harder decisions: interpreting syndromic panels in microbiological clinical practice
Every generation in diagnostic microbiology has tried to answer the same questions more quickly. Is an infection present? What is causing it? What should happen next? What has changed dramatically is how rapidly, and how broadly, laboratories can now search for answers to these questions.
Tracking the invisible: monitoring microbial processes in freshwater ecosystems using fluorescence sensing
Rivers are dynamic ecosystems driven by microbial processes that regulate carbon and nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and oxygen consumption. Despite their central role in river health, microbial processes remain mostly invisible in routine water quality monitoring programmes, which continue to focus primarily on physicochemical parameters.
How indigenous microbes could rescue the Niger Delta
Benzene contamination from decades of oil exploitation has turned the Niger Delta’s groundwater into a slow-acting poison for millions of people. Yet the solution may already be living in the contaminated sediment itself, if only the political will exists to deploy it.
Under the Lens video series
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 4
The microscopic organisms living around plant roots may hold the key to reducing agriculture’s reliance on chemical fertilisers and other non-renewable inputs, according to plant microbiome researcher Dr Davide Bulgarelli.
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 4
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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Maybe Vitamin C isn’t just expensive urine after all
“Expensive urine” has become a convenient way of dismissing vitamin supplements taken in doses beyond what our bodies have an immediate need for. But if some unabsorbed vitamin C remains in the gastrointestinal tract, it raises an interesting question about how it could be interacting with the gut microbiome.
Shigella: A phenotypic genus in a genomic era
In an era where evolutionary relationships can be resolved down to the single-nucleotide level, Shigella stands out as a relic of phenotype-based classification: a label built on lost traits rather than shared ancestry. Yet the genus persists, defended by appeals to clinical utility, says Georgina Donovan.
Menopause may have a link to fungal skin infections
For decades, skin concerns associated with menopause, like dry skin, itching, and redness, have often been dismissed as superficial cosmetic concerns inherent to biological ageing. But these changes may reflect the underlying shifts in skin biology.
From evidence to action: how to bridge the gap between scientists and decision-makers to solve global One Health challenges
Reflections from the AMI Policy Team’s recent workshop at the 9th World One Health Congress.
Food and innovation: Reflections from FOODMicro 2026
AMI Food Security Advisory Group member Professor Marciane Magnani, a Full Professor of Food Science at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Brazil, reflects on her experiences of FOODMICRO 2026 in Slovenia.
Horizon Award winners one year on: What are they up to?
The nominations for the Horizon Awards are in - and the judges are making their decisions. While we await the big announcement, we’ve been catching up with the superstars who won in 2025.
Wildlife imports linked to higher risk of animal-human disease outbreaks
Researchers have discovered that wildlife imports highly influence the possibility of zoonotic emerging infectious disease (EID). This marks the first global measurement of how wildlife trade is linked to outbreaks of animal-borne diseases, across countries and over time.
Biodegradable plastics show strikingly different fates under landfill conditions
Not all biodegradable plastics behave the same once they reach landfill-like environments. Researchers found that PHB broke down almost completely within weeks and PLA degraded substantially over several months, while PBAT barely mineralised, revealing how strongly biodegradation depends on environmental conditions and microbial activity.
Study identifies single amino acid change that alters Andes virus protein behavior in human cells
Researchers have identified a single amino acid difference between rodent- and human-derived Andes virus isolates that changes how a key viral protein behaves inside human cells. The findings help explain biological differences between closely related virus isolates.
Food security
Improving heat-resilient indigenous livestock using local AI models built on gut microbiome data
Researchers have proposed a policy roadmap of an AI-driven precision farming approach to further improve indigenous and other livestock breeds’ abilities to withstand extreme conditions in farming operations of all sizes and types.
Clean Water
Modified biochar improves antibiotic removal but reshapes soil microbiomes
Modified biochar can improve the removal of antibiotic residues from agricultural soils, but its effects depend strongly on soil type. Researchers found that better sulfamethoxazole removal was accompanied by major shifts in bacterial communities, showing that remediation benefits can come with ecological trade-offs.
Hidden microbial ecosystems of leatherback turtles offer new insights for Caribbean marine conservation
Scientists studying leatherback sea turtles in Puerto Rico have uncovered distinct microbial communities on the animals, their eggs, and the sand surrounding their nests.
