LATEST OPINION
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OpinionBiopiracy in microbiology: Who owns nature’s resources?
A growing global debate over “biopiracy” is raising urgent questions for microbiologists, researchers, industry and policymakers alike — and Applied Microbiology International is calling on members to help shape the conversation. Biopiracy refers to the unauthorised or unethical use of biological materials — including seeds, plants, ...
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OpinionBuilding sector infrastructure: The MLSFF model
Members of the MLSFF Steering Committee explores the sustainability problem that plagues equity initiatives in STEM - and the solutions presented by the infrastructure partnership that delivers Europe’s only conference for minoritised life scientists.
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OpinionFertile ground: The rise of soil viral ecology
Soil viral ecology has been one of the most neglected areas of microbiology, but technological advances are opening up fertile new frontiers, says AMI Healthy Land Advisory Group member and CNRS researcher Christina Hazard.
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OpinionReversing 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.
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OpinionWhy 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.
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OpinionDisease 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.
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OpinionListeria: the inconvenient truth that shaped our industry
Director General of the Chilled Food Association, Karin Goodburn MBE, who sits on AMI’s Food Security Advisory Group, reveals why the publication of new Listeria guidance for the UK food industry is regarded as a landmark moment.
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OpinionWe couldn’t get people interested in science - until we started speaking their language
In 2020, Puerto Rico faced a misinformation crisis. Melanie Ortiz Alvarez De La Campa reveals how five STEM undergraduates created a sci-comm organization that helped pass legislation, educated thousands, and created an inclusive database of Caribbean scientists.
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OpinionThe politics behind the global divide in bacteriophage therapy
The therapeutic potential of bacteriophages (or ‘phages’) has been widely dismissed for decades in the West, despite being regularly used to treat patients worldwide in the early and mid-20th century. In an age rife with disinformation, can the true potential of clinical phage technology be communicated to a public already uneasy about scientific intervention?
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OpinionPride in Microbiology Network: the road so far
Bruno Francesco Rodrigues de Oliveira, a founding member of the Pride in Microbiology Network, reveals how it has developed since it was launched three years ago - and what needs to happen next.
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OpinionCould livestock-originated probiotics replace synthetic antibiotics for livestock?
In many developing countries, the use of antibiotics in both humans and animals is often indiscriminate and poorly regulated. Could livestock-originated probiotics be a suitable replacement?
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OpinionKey lessons from the saMBA studies on human gut microbiome diversity
A recent study published in Nature Communications introduced the South American MicroBiome Archive (saMBA). The study offers several critical insights that deserve careful consideration.
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OpinionSustainability starts at the bench: microbiologists leading by example
The scale of the environmental crisis demands that sustainability move from the margins to the centre of every discipline.
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OpinionUnderstanding the gut microbiome: are we missing essential information?
Undoubtedly, the gut microbiome is key to understanding the impact of diets and lifestyles on health. However, despite decades of scientific advancements, the connection between gut microbiome shifts and perceived health benefits remains unclear.
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OpinionSafety and nutritional claims for raw milk
Robert F Kennedy Jr. famously advocates drinking raw milk and promotes its benefits. But how safe is unpasteurised milk? Nicola Holden and Gil Domingue, who sit on Applied Microbiology International’s Food Security Scientific Advisory Group, take a deep dive into the science.
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OpinionScience and the humanities in the crosshairs
The German Research Foundation (DFG) President Professor Dr Katja Becker issued a stark warning about the “war on science” and the need for solidarity at the organisation’s annual meeting in July. The Microbiologist reports her speech in full.
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OpinionClean data, clear insights: making AI work for microbiology
We are currently living through a period of AI boom. But as the AI fatigue starts settling in, should microbiologists be racing to embed AI into every pipeline?
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OpinionDiet, microbiome, and health: epiphenomenon or causal connection?
The gut microbiome is considered a key determinant in human health. Yet, as attention and claims have grown, so has the gap between evidence and interpretation. How much does diet really influence the microbiome?
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OpinionIt’s game over for dangerous Gain of Function research
The Trump adminstration has signed an Executive Order halting federal gain of function research on microbes - but does it throw the baby out with the bathwater? Virologist Simon Wain-Hobson, Emeritus Professor with the Pasteur Institute, Paris, gives his take.
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OpinionThe problem of microplastics in the oceans: it’s time for effective solutions
Francielly Bruna Neto Francisco and Ricardo Henrique Krüger, from the University of Brasília (UNB), warn that we urgently need technologies that will effectively eliminate partially or nonbiodegradable polymers from the marine environment.