Linda Stewart
News and Current Affairs Editor
Linda studied Pure & Applied Biology BA at St Anne’s College, Oxford, before completing an MSc in Conservation at UCL. After two years in a Water Service lab in Northern Ireland, she switched to a career in newspaper journalism, working as a general reporter at the Belfast Telegraph before becoming the regional daily’s first Environment Correspondent from 2008 until 2016. She was named Environment Correspondent of the Year 2011 and Feature Journalist of the Year in 2014 at the NI Media Awards. After serving as editor on a number of retail sector magazines, she is enjoying turning her journalism skills to delivering fresh and fascinating scientific news content in The Microbiologist.
Contact info
NewsBlocked cell wall formation stops bacterial cell division
Researchers using high-performance microscopes to observe the effect of different antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus have clarified how exactly different antibiotics block cell division within a few minutes.
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Novel 2D ultrasound-responsive antibacterial nano-sheets tackle MRSA bone tissue infection
A research team has invented a non-invasive and non-antibiotics technology to effectively reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in bony tissue.
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mNGS outperforms microbiological tests to diagnose bloodstream infections
Next-generation sequencing (mNGS) leverages genetic testing advantage to save more lives and is found to be twice as effective at identifying infection cases.
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Europe set to miss 2030 SDG target for ending TB as global threat
A new paper examining progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals target for tuberculosis and associated targets warns that as it stands, the EU/EEA will not reach the set targets by 2030.
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Microplastics limit energy production in tiny freshwater species
Microplastic pollution reduces energy production in a microscopic creature found in freshwater worldwide, new research shows.
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AMI Trustee Dr Emmanuel Adukwu wins major RSB teaching accolade
Applied MIcrobiology International (AMI) is celebrating after Non-Exec Director and Trustee Dr Emmanuel Adukwu was awarded the Royal Society of Biology’s Higher Education Bioscience Teacher of the Year award for 2023.
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Water quality standards ‘should be reviewed to reflect AMR threat’
Water quality standards should be reviewed to reflect the threat from the spread of antibiotic resistance, a team of scientists has warned.
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Phytoplankton blooms offer insight into impacts of climate change
The first study into the biological response of the upper ocean in the wake of South Pacific cyclones could help predict the impact of warming ocean temperatures, New Zealand researchers believe.
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Next epidemic could be spotted early in wastewater, say scientists
Researchers analysing wastewater say that routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide a powerful early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic, alerting hospitals to prepare and providing public health agencies with vital health information.
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Gut microbes can help diagnose gestational diabetes as early as first trimester
A new study has found that gestational diabetes can be diagnosed as early as the first trimester of pregnancy – months earlier than typically detected.
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Scientists warn of rise in flesh-eating bacterial infection due to global warming
Continued warming of the climate would see a rise in the number and spread of potentially fatal infections caused by bacteria found along parts of the coast of the United States, researchers predict.
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Lethal Toxoplasma parasite strain killed California sea otters and could threaten other marine life
Necropsies of sea otters show they died of a virulent form of Toxoplasma infection first detected in mountain lions in Canada.
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Co-infection with ‘superbug’ bacteria increases SARS-CoV-2 replication up to 15 times
New research has revealed that IsdA, a protein found in all strains of Staph A., boosts SARS-CoV-2 replication by 10- to 15-fold.
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Gut microbiota may be harnessed as a tool to diagnose fatty liver disease
A recent study at the University of Jyväskylä comparing the gut microbiota and gut-derived metabolites between healthy controls and individuals with fatty liver revealed that certain microbial metabolites are associated with liver fat content.
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Researchers discover previously unknown Achilles heel of Covid virus
Scientists concluded that only a survey of neutralising antibodies can inform us about protection against new Covid infections, then disovered a previously unknown weak point of the virus when analysing specific characteristics of those antibodies.
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Healthy men who have vaginal sex have a distinct urethral microbiome
A new study shows that the urethra of healthy men is teeming with microbial life and that a specific activity - vaginal sex - can shape its composition
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Extensively drug-resistant Shigella sonnei strain emerges in France
Scientists monitoring Shigella in France have detected the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Shigella sonnei. Bacterial genome sequencing and case characteristics suggest that these strains, which originated in South Asia, mainly spread among men who have sex with men.
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Expedition to search out invisible life in Galápagos
An international research team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) is to search for invisible life in the Galápagos Islands.
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Emerging fungal infection sees dramatic increase in cases and transmission in 2 years
A study of US national surveillance data has found that cases of Candida auris, a highly contagious fungal infection, rose drastically between 2019 and 2021, reflecting increased transmission.
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Scientists uncover what makes malaria such a wily foe
Researchers have created the first high-resolution map of the human immune response to Plasmodium falciparum, offering insight into what makes this parasite such a persistent pathogen.
