Young Innovators & Early Career Research
Early career research is crucial for science, and in delivering applied microbiology to the world. This page is focused on showcasing innovations and research from early career researchers across the globe and provides a hub for the latest news, opinions, careers advice and research for early career scientists. Discover how interdisciplinary colleagues from around the world are making advancements in, and through, applied microbiology.
News
Research shows plants such as canola, tomatoes and rice reduce iron uptake when stressed by drought
New research has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to take up iron when they experience drought. The study questions whether plants send out a ‘cry for help’ when they are stressed by drought to recruit beneficial soil microbes in their roots.
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NewsResearchers aim to improve access to high-quality research and biomanufacturing tools in resource-limited settings
Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of a suite of low-cost, portable biotechnology tools designed to improve access to laboratory research and diagnostics in resource-limited settings.
NewsNovel therapeutic drug for tuberculosis is proposed using high-precision molecular simulation
Researchers have proposed a novel therapeutic agent for tuberculosis, using high-precision molecular simulation techniques. The proposed drug is anticipated to bind strongly to the drug-metabolizing enzyme cytochrome P450 (CYP).
NewsResearchers transfer nitrogen-harvesting genes into new bacteria
New research has identified a key cluster of genes that can be moved from rhizobia bacteria that harvest nitrogen into bacteria that don’t — raising the possibility that microbes that dwell in cereal crops could eventually be engineered to atmospherically harvest nitrogen as well.
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News
Arctic Ocean food chain disrupted as key tipping point passed
An irreversible shift in the chemical make-up of the Arctic Ocean driven by climate change is disrupting the region’s food chain, a study suggests. Widespread loss of Arctic sea ice has led to a sharp fall in levels of a key nutrient, affecting populations of plankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.
NewsResearchers identify immune ‘energy signature’ linked to tuberculosis protection
Researchers found that circulating monocytes from people with latent TB remain metabolically flexible, allowing them to mount strong antibacterial responses, whereas cells from people with active TB disease show impaired metabolism and weaker responses to infection.
NewsColorectal cancer risk linked to gut microbiome alterations
A study finds that more than a decade after removal of an adenoma from the colon, the gut microbiome still partly resembles that observed in colorectal cancer (CRC).
NewsScientists determine how mysterious acids give bacteria their shape
Researchers have discovered how acids on the surface of bacteria give these microscopic organisms their characteristic “rod” shape—by keeping an enzyme at bay that would otherwise turn the cylindrical cells into shape-shifting blobs.
NewsNew urine test for microbial metabolites offers simple way to screen for autism in children
Scientists have developed a new screening tool to test urine for 17 microbial metabolites in children ages 2 to 11 years. By measuring these compounds in urine, they discovered that they could distinguish children with autism from typically developing children in their study groups with high accuracy.
NewsBrazilian medical students increase vaccine confidence
Vaccination coverage in Brazil has declined in recent years. Medical students at the University of Pernambuco designed and delivered a low-cost, two-hour educational intervention for 25 parents and caregivers waiting for routine appointments at a Family Health Unit in Recife.
NewsCheese bacteria could offer health benefits
Scientists identified the microbial and biochemical profiles of three artisan cheeses made locally in Oxfordshire across their maturation process, and found that the bacteria responsible for a cheese’s character could also benefit the people who eat it.
NewsStudents develop milk pathogen test kit and win TED Youth Startup Grant
Inspired by the widely used and user-friendly COVID-19 strip test kits, a team of science students has developed a test kit for detecting pathogens in milk and dairy products. They combined the LAMP technique with strip test technology to create a simple screening tool for harmful bacteria.
NewsMicrobiome insights may help predict immunotherapy benefit in kidney cancer
City of Hope researchers report that gut microbiome composition may influence how patients respond to immunotherapy combinations in metastatic renal cell carcinoma, pointing to a potential biomarker that could help guide treatment selection in the future.
NewsScientists make groundbreaking discovery – and find a possible new ally – in the opioid crisis
Scientists analyzed used hypodermic needles from a needle exchange program to better understand what narcotics actually were in the needles and determine if any non-viral pathogens were present.
NewsChemists use sea sponge bacteria to create new molecules for drug discovery
Chemists have synthesized new molecules derived from bacteria found in a Pacific Ocean sea sponge. They are the first to successfully synthesize two new marine natural products: tetradehydrohalicyclamine B and epi-tetradehydrohalicyclamine B.
NewsSabiá virus has been circulating in Brazil for 142 years and mutating, study finds
Researchers developed a new method and identified the infection in two patients who died from acute hemorrhagic and neurological syndrome in São Paulo in 2019 and 2020.
CareersVoice of the Future: Inspiring conversations at the science-policy interface
Earlier this year, Suparna Mitra and Alan Koh took part in the Royal Society of Biology’s Voice of the Future event at Parliament, representing AMI. Here they reflect on the experience and what they took away from it.
Careers The First Microbiome Symposium of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean – new success for the COBRE Center for Microbiome Sciences
The inaugural Microbiome Symposium of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean marked a major milestone for microbiome science in the region and reinforced Puerto Rico’s growing leadership in interdisciplinary biomedical research, says chair Filipa Godoy-Vitorino of the University of Puerto Rico.
NewsNew ‘permanently wet’ coating method could transform wastewater treatment by helping bacteria survive better
Living bacteria embedded in coatings could clean wastewater, capture carbon and generate biofuels – if they survive the manufacturing process. Researchers have developed a method that keeps bacteria submerged throughout coating formation, increasing the number of surviving cells by around 500 times compared to conventional approaches.
NewsNew research offers practical biosecurity tools to limit poultry disease spread
New research could help producers better protect poultry flocks from disease outbreaks while reducing costs. By identifying where contamination occurs and how to interrupt those pathways, the research helps move biosecurity from theory to action, offering tools that can protect animal health and support a more stable food supply.
NewsA common disinfectant could affect how well your liver works
Common household cleaners and pharmaceutical products contain benzalkonium chlorides (BACs), a type of disinfectant. A new study shows that exposure to these compounds caused changes in gut microbiome composition in mice, as well as the genes that encode for liver enzymes that metabolize drugs.
NewsClimate warming causes bleaching in key Arctic lichen, study finds
Long-term climate warming is causing a bleaching effect in a key Arctic lichen species, according to new research. Prolonged warming caused significant bleaching in the dominant lichen species Cetrariella delisei, reducing its ability to photosynthesise and grow.
NewsAgricultural azoles drive clinical azole resistance in Candida tropicalis via inducing aneuploidy
To define the causal role of agricultural azole fungicides in driving clinical azole resistance in the major human opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida tropicalis, researchers conducted a systematic study integrating experimental evolution, genomic characterization, and transcriptomic profiling.