August 2026 - Microbes and Culture
This collection features content from across The Microbiologist on the intersection between microbiology and society - from cultural practices and traditional uses of microbes, to current thinking around data sovereignty and indigenous perspectives on microbiome research.” The issue will be updated across the month and include news, features, careers, videos, and opinion. If you would like to feature your work in this issue, please contact the editorial team.
News in Microbes and Culture
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Features in Microbes and Culture
Features in Microbes and Culture
Under the Microscope: Microbes in fashion
In the dawn of a new era, the fashion industry is turning its sights to harnessing the power of microbes to produce cruelty-free fur and leather alternatives, to create pigments that will replace toxic dyes and even being used to more sustainably recycle textile waste.
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The living wooden cellar: microbiota of high-elevation artisanal cider in Slovenia
In the subalpine region of Carinthia, in northern Slovenia, cider is produced on remote family farms at altitudes of 500 to 860 metres - above the range in which the country’s vineyards operate. Here, cider-making is not a specialty product but a long-standing regional practice, historically shaped by a climate unsuited to winegrowing.
How globalisation is reshaping traditional diets, our food culture, and gut microbiome
Globalisation has transformed not only the way we trade, travel and eat, but also the microbes that live with us. As food systems become increasingly interconnected, traditional diets that have shaped human gut microbiomes for generations are increasingly being replaced by a globalised food culture dominated by ultra-processed foods.
Could spiritual healing sites be fertile ground for new antibiotics?
Common motifs between Streptomyces and sites of spiritual healing may help with the discovery of new sites for bioprospecting. Although there may be a temptation to dismiss the spiritual nature of the healing sites, it is important that researchers begin to understand these in the appropriate cultural and spiritual context.
Careers in Microbes and Culture
A day in the life: Discovering the hidden microbes of Britain’s historic waters
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Opinions in Microbes and Culture
Whose culture is it? Rethinking the study of traditional fermented food microbiomes
Fungi that inspired The Last of Us may hold the key to a pesticide-free agriculture
Biopiracy in microbiology: Who owns nature’s resources?
Building sector infrastructure: The MLSFF model
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Our next special issue of 2026 will be published in October, and be entitled Pollution and Remediation. If you would like to feature your work in the next issue, please contact the editorial team. Access to previous special issues can be found here.