Microbe Talk
Microbe Talk is the Microbiology Society's podcast, featuring interviews with researchers about bacteria, viruses and parasites. The society is the largest microbiology organization in Europe and covers all aspects of microbial science. Episodes explore current research and topics across microbiology.
Episodes
Episode 186: Breaking down biofilms with gas
This month, Lilly welcomes Dr Jason Brown from the University of Glasgow to discuss his latest research findings using cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a form of ionised gas, against biofilms in wound infections. Listen in to hear their discussion of what CAP therapy is, how it works, and why this treatment could be a useful alternative to antibiotics. Read Jason's latest research paper in
Episode 185: What can we learn from involving the public in microbial genomics research?
📣 Episode 185 is out now! This month, Lilly welcomes Dr Hannah Trivett from the University of Birmingham to the podcast, to discuss her latest publication bringing patient and public involvement (PPI) and microbial genomics research together for the first time ever. Listen in to hear their discussion of what the public think about effective science communication and how researchers can be
Episode 184: Building a sense of belonging with the Pride in Microbiology network
This Pride Month, Dr Bruno Francesco Rodrigues de Oliveira and Dr Landon Getz, two of the founders of the Pride in Microbiology network, join Lilly to discuss why their work to harness community and professional development opportunities for LGBTQ+ scientists around the world is as important as ever.
Episode 183: Annual Conference 2026: Meet the Panel behind the programme
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes planning our flagship Annual Conference? Listen in as Lilly talks to Chairs of the Scientific Conferences Panel during the four day event in Belfast, about the challenges and joys of putting together the exciting programme. Interested in joining? Visit our website to find out more about how to apply for vacancies in our governance structure.
Episode 182: Sepsis, superbugs, and antibiotic stewardship
"I often like to say that we're not the antibiotic police, but we're the antibiotic sommelier. So, you have a bug and we have the drug, and we try to find the best fit."In this month's Microbe Talk, Charlotte Holtum (Head of Engagement & Storytelling) welcomes guests Dr Alicia Demirjian (UK Health Security Agency and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Yoann Personne (b
Episode 181: Sexual health and the vaginal microbiome
What does a healthy vaginal microbiome look like? Are store-bought vaginal probiotics backed by science? How do these microbes interact with sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? 🦠Research is uncovering more and more about the relationship between the vaginal microbiome and sexual health. That's why this month, I spoke with Prof Wilhelmina Huston, a microbiologist specialising in STIs a
Episode 180: Society Staff Reflect on 2025
In this episode of Microbe Talk, we meet some members of staff at the Microbiology Society to reflect on 2025 and look at ways to get involved in 2026.
Episode 179: Hidden Companions: how parasites are adapting to a changing world
The relationship between humans and parasites is changing along with the climate crisis, globalisation, and innovations in science. In this month's Microbe Talk, we chat to expert Kinga Kowalewska-Grochowska at the University of Alberta, Canada, about the evolutions in how we look at parasites, where they are found, and what the future holds for diagnosing and treating these illnesses. Th
Episode 178: The Kocurious case of Noodlococcus: From discovery to community
In 2019, a mysterious shape appeared on a petri dish in a Birmingham lab. Its surprising appearance, similar to noodles, intrigued researchers to find out more about it. They consulted other scientists online at the time, which sparked an idea to start an online club dedicated to sharing laboratory contaminants.Now, the team finally publish their research characterising this contaminant a
Episode 177: Chemical Conversations: Exploring the gut:brain link in bipolar treatments
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Clare talks to An Bui from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta about their paper published in Microbiology, the first systematic review of the potential effects of psychotropics (the drugs used to treat bipolar disorder) on the gut microbiome of treated and untreated bipolar individuals.A full transcript of this episode is available o
Episode 176: From workshop to publication: discussing microbiome safety with Lindsay Hall and Aline Metris
In January 2024, Aline Metris and Lindsay Hall hosted an academic-industry workshop at the Microbiology Society offices to discuss the potential long-term implications of microbiome perturbations. Since then, they’ve published a comprehensive summary of the findings from the workshop in Microbial Genomics. We invited them back to the Microbiology Society offices to chat with Clare about t
Episode 175: Dr Beth Mills and Akpan Friday on international collaboration and mentorship
In this episode, Adam discovers how two microbiologists from opposite sides of the world formed a collaboration and mentorship that has greatly benefited them both.When in-person classes were suspended during the 2020 lockdown, Akpan Friday, a student from Nigeria, reached out on social media seeking support to continue his and his classmates’ learning. Dr Beth Mills from the University o
Episode 174: Our miniseries for Annual Conference 2025: Andrew Spicer
We're in Liverpool this week, hosting our annual conference and meeting our members, collaborators and authors.We know that there will be a lot of exciting conversations, interesting presentations and vital networking opportunities happening all over the and wanted to make sure you could keep the excitement going even after the events of the day have finished.So, across the four days of a
Episode 173: Our miniseries for Annual Conference 2025: Guilherme Neumann
We're in Liverpool this week, hosting our annual conference and meeting our members, collaborators and authors.We know that there will be a lot of exciting conversations, interesting presentations and vital networking opportunities happening all over the and wanted to make sure you could keep the excitement going even after the events of the day have finished.So, across the four days of a
Episode 172: Our miniseries for Annual Conference 2025: Elizabeth O'Gorman
We're in Liverpool this week, hosting our annual conference and meeting our members, collaborators and authors.We know that there will be a lot of exciting conversations, interesting presentations and vital networking opportunities happening all over the and wanted to make sure you could keep the excitement going even after the events of the day have finished.So, across the four days of a
Episode 171: Our miniseries for Annual Conference 2025: Phoebe Crossley
We're in Liverpool this week, hosting our annual conference and meeting our members, collaborators and authors.We know that there will be a lot of exciting conversations, interesting presentations and vital networking opportunities happening all over the and wanted to make sure you could keep the excitement going even after the events of the day have finished.So, across the four days of a
Episode 170: Microbiome and thermal tolerance: a new frontier in climate resilience?
In this episode of Microbe Talk Clare speaks to Judy Li, author on the latest Microbial Primer: Microbiome and thermal tolerance – a new frontier in climate resilience? Clare and Judy chat about the paper, the relatively new field of study and the possible mechanisms of microbes buffering organisms against temperature changes.If you'd like to Judy's paper, published in Microbiology you ca
Episode 169: Coccus Pocus A microbiology inspired scary story competition
In this episode, Adam talks to Dr Georgios Efthimiou from the University of Hull. Georgios has created a nationwide ‘spooky’ short story competition called Coccus Pocus. This project links outreach and Halloween with microbiology. This creative competition has had a clear impact on 12 – 18-year-olds who find the competition a good way to discover an interest in microbiology and have had
Episode 168: Exploring the science of wellness, ageing and death with John Tregoning
For the first episode of Microbe Talk in 2025, we’re bringing you something fascinating and a bit different— non-communicable diseases. In this special episode, Clare chats with Professor John Tregoning, a Professor in Vaccine Immunology, about his new book, 'Live Forever? A Curious Scientist’s Guide to Wellness, Ageing and Death'. Clare and John chat about why he's writing about non-comm
Episode 167: Antimalarial drug resistance: current challenges and future solutions
In this episode of Microbe Talk Clare spoke to Adam Aspinall who's Senior Director in the Access and Product Management team at Medicines for Malaria Venture. They discuss Malaria, antimalarial drug resistance and the work that Medicines for Malaria Venture is doing to support new drug discovery.If you'd like to find out more about the Microbiology Society's Knocking Out AMR project, you
Episode 166: World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week: pediatric AMR
For this episode of Microbe Talk Clare is joined by Dr Sanjay Patel, a paediatric infectious disease and immunology consultant at Southampton Children's Hospital and the National Clinical Advisor for Paediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship at NHS England. Clare and Sanjay discuss paediatric AMR, why it's often overlooked and how Sanjay and his colleagues from clinical, research and policy b
Episode 165: Black History Month: Amaka Awayne
The month of October is #BlackHistoryMonth and this year we caught up with Society Champion, Dr Amaka Awayne, on our latest episode of the Microbe Talk podcast. Dr Amaka discusses her insightful experiences as a Black person working in science, as well as how she is contributing to Black History Month this year.Find out how to get more involved with Society activities via our Get Involved
Episode 164: Looking up at space microbiology
In aid of space week Clare is looking up into the sky with Dr Katherine Baxter about the exciting field of space microbiology. They chat about how research in space could help with problems back on earth, how microbes behave in space and how they might be key to survival in future space travel.The details of the ways to get involved are below. If you're in need of even more space content,
Episode 163: Investigating invisible culprits with Dr Tim Inglis
Clare is back with another episode of Microbe Talk and this time she’s investigating the topic of Microbial Forensics with Dr Tim Inglis from the University of Western Australia. Tim is the Editor-in-Chief of the Society’s Journal of Medical Microbiology where he published his review on the topic: ‘A systematic approach to microbial forensics’. You can read a full transcript of this podca
Episode 162: Roots of resistance: exploring AMR in ancient mouths
For this episode of Microbe Talk Clare was joined by the wonderful Gwyn Dahlquist-Axe and Francesca Standeven, archaeological scientists who study AMR and ancient human oral microbiomes. They're on the podcast to discuss their review into diet, disease and antibiotic resistance from ancient human oral microbiomes published in Microbial Genomics.You can read their review 'Inferring diet, d
Episode 161: Knocking Out AMR: fixing the broken innovation pipeline
Yesterday, we released our vision statement for Knocking Out Antimicrobial Resistance, the Society's new cross-disciplinary project. It outlined the key issues faced by the AMR community: the lack of understanding of the urgency of the crisis, a fragmented AMR landscape and a broken innovation pipelineSo for this special Knocking Out AMR episode of Microbe Talk Clare spoke to Professor Pa
Episode 160: Women’s History Month: a conversation with Dr Linda Oyama
Last month was Women’s History Month, taking place annually throughout the month of March. It aims to highlight and reflect on the many, but often over-looked, achievements made by women throughout history – which have paved the way for the women of today. In this episode, to mark the month, we caught up with Society Champion and microbiologist, Dr Linda Oyama. Linda discusses her insight
Episode 159: Behind the lecture with Dr Claas Kirchhelle
Dr Claas Kirchhelle from University College Dublin will be giving the Hot Topic Lecture: "Faecal Flows – a very short history of microbiology, sewers, and Britain's rivers (ca.1850-2023)" at this years Annual Conference. Clare spoke to Claas to find out how he's feeling ahead of his lecture and to pick his brain about his intriguing research area. If you're at Annual Conference this year
Episode 158: Navigating Academia: a conversation with Professor Iruka Okeke and Professor Judith Armitage
In aid of The International Day of Women and Girls in Science Clare spoke to Professor Iruka Okeke and Professor Judith Armitage to discuss women in science. In this episode they discuss the importance of mentors, promotions in academia and the inequalities of maternity leave and Clare gains valuable insights from Judy and Iruka's impressive careers. To keep up with Judy and Iruka, you c
Episode 157: Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance: research and surveillance
In this episode of Microbe Talk Clare is joined by Rick Mumford, Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor & Deputy Director of Science Evidence & Research at the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA). They chat about research and surveillance of foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR), delivering on the 5-year National Action Plan and look to the future of foodborne AMR. If you’d like to read Ri
Episode 156: Microbe Talk: the best of 2023
It’s the final episode of 2023 so Clare, Katie and Adam got together to discuss their favourite Microbe Talk moments of 2023 and what they’re most looking forward to in 2024. If you want to listen back to any of the podcast episodes mentioned in the podcast you can find these below: The bacteriophage: is the enemy of our enemy a friend?Dr John Munnoch discusses dyslexiaCRISPR - Cas9 Takes
Episode 155: Knocking Out AMR: Dr Tina Joshi and Dr Catrin Moore on the Society’s new project
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Policy and Engagement Officer Katie chats to Dr Tina Joshi and Dr Catrin Moore, the Microbiology Society members leading on the Society’s brand new antimicrobial resistance (AMR) project, Knocking Out AMR. In this episode, Katie, Tina and Catrin talk about what the new project is, how it came to be, and how people can get involved.If you are interested in
Episode 154: Knocking Out AMR: a conversation with Professor Chloe James
If you are interested in opportunities for organisations to collaborate with the Microbiology Society, please email knockingoutamr@microbiologysociety.org or to register your individual interest please visit the Knocking out AMR webpage. To find out about the latest updates, follow us on Twitter @MicrobioSoc using the hashtag #KnockingOutAMR. You can also read the latest edition of Microb
Episode 153: Conversations on Collaboration: Sir Paul Nurse on collaborative working and Horizon Europe
In this episode of Microbe Talk, our Policy and Engagement Officer Katie chats to Sir Paul Nurse, Director of the Francis Crick Institute and former President of the Royal Society. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of protein molecules that control the division of cells in the cell cycle and has since received over 70 honorary degrees. In this
Episode 152: Dr John Munnoch discusses dyslexia
Each year, Dyslexia Awareness Week gives us a chance to take some time to reflect and learn about the everyday challenges people can face when they have dyslexia. In this episode, Adam, (who has dyslexia himself) speaks to Dr John Munnoch, who was diagnosed with dyslexia around the age of 8, to discuss how he has been challenged within the field of microbiology. John also explains how he
Episode 151: Conversations on Collaboration: Hilary Lappin-Scott on cultivating international partnerships
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Policy and Engagement Officer Katie chats to Professor Hilary Lappin-Scott OBE, President of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) about her career so far, the importance of international collaboration in science and our recent re-association with Horizon Europe. A full transcript of this episode is available on the Microbiology Soci
Episode 150: Conversations on Collaboration: Elaine Cloutman-Green on working across microbiology's disciplines
This year the Microbiology Society is hosting FIS (the Federation of Infection Societies (FIS) conference) in partnership with HIS and BIA. FIS is all about fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, so in this episode of Microbe Talk Clare speaks to Professor Elaine Cloutman-Green , a microbiologist whose work spans clinical, lab, and patient-facing roles about the importance of collabo
Episode 149: AI: a useful tool or dangerous unstoppable force?
For this episode of Microbe Talk, Clare is tackling the topic of AI in Microbial Genomics research. So what better time than now, to give AI a chance to generate the description?*The below description was generated by Chat GPT*In this captivating episode of Microbe Talk, your host Clare delves into the cutting-edge realm of microbial genomics and its fascinating intersection with artifici
Episode 148: CRISPR-Cas9 Takes on AMR Plasmids
In this episode of Microbe Talk, David Walker Sunderhaulf chats with Clare about his paper "Removal of AMR plasmids using a mobile, broad host-range CRISPR-Cas9 delivery tool" published in Microbiology. If you'd like to read David's paper, you can find it here https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001334. You can also follow him on twitter @davvi36. Musi
Episode 147: Getting to grips with industry careers
Are you looking for a microbiology career pick me up? Well look no further! On this special episode of Microbe Talk, Clare sits down with Microbiology Society member Dr Oliver Severn to discuss his experience of working in industry.Music: pixabay 'That science ambient' by Comma Studio.
Episode 146: A deep dive into wastewater monitoring
This month, inspired by a paper published in Microbial Genomics, Clare takes a deep dive into the method of wastewater monitoring. She speaks to Professor Steve Patterson and Dr Anne Leonard about how wastewater monitoring is a useful tool which helps us understand not only the spread of diseases like COVID-19, but also antimicrobial resistance.You can read Professor Patterson's paper, pu
Episode 145: Annual Conference 2023: Demystifying Science Policy
This episode of Microbe Talk was recorded at our Annual Conference in Birmingham. For the very first time this year, we had an session entirely dedicated to science policy. In this episode, Katie and Clare chat with Dr Isobel Stanton, an invited speaker, and delegates that attended the session about how they found it and what they learned.A full transcript of this episode is available on
Episode 144: Invisible Friends
In our latest podcast, Clare and Microbiology Society member Jake Robinson discuss his new book Invisible Friends, the role of popular science books and how microbes can shape our lives and the world around us.To order Jake’s Book visit pelagicpublishing.com/collections/co…42190054981803You can also keep up to date with Jake’s work here: www.jakemrobinson.com and on Twitter @_jake_robinso
Episode 143: Lab coats - the discrimination we don't see
Have you ever thought that your lab coat isn’t made for you? Has it affected how comfortable you feel in a lab?On this episode of Microbe Talk Clare speaks to Derek Miller, founder of Genius Lab Gear, about all things lab coats, from impostor syndrome to safety issues. And how he is hoping to produce a lab coat that is designed with the diversity of scientists in mind.Music: pixabay Chill
Episode 142: The bacteriophage: is the enemy of our enemy a friend?
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Policy and Engagement Officer Katie talks to Professor Martha Clokie about bacteriophages, how they can be used to treat infection and potentially even combat antimicrobial resistance. You can read our full response to the government inquiry on the antimicrobial potential of bacteriophages, here. A full transcript of this episode is available on the Mic
Episode 141: Could a new vaccine save the Tasmanian devil from a contagious cancer?
Every year, thousands of Tasmanian devils die from contagious facial tumours. On this episode of Microbe Talk, Charlotte speaks to Dr Andy Flies from the Menzies Institute at the University of Tasmania, Australia, about a potential new vaccine approach that could save these endangered animals. You can view the video mentioned in the episode on our Instagram @MicrobioSoc and you can read
Episode 140: The microbiology of your Christmas dinner
In this festive episode of Microbe Talk, Charlotte speaks to Dr Lorna Lancaster about the harmful and helpful microbes involved in making Christmas food.A full transcript of this episode is available on the Microbiology Society website.microbiologysociety.org/blog/podcast-…s-dinner.htmlMusic: Free Music Archive 'Adeline Yeo (HP) - Tis The Season To Be Jolly'
Episode 139: Disability History Month
In this special episode of Microbe Talk for Disability History Month, Charlie talks to Kirsty Jones about her experience of accessibility in labs.A full transcript of this episode is available on the Microbiology Society website.https://microbiologysociety.org/blog/podcast-disability-history-month.html Music: Blue Dot Sessions 'The Corner Office'
Episode 138: Inside the creeping threat of fungal infections
Some fungal infections, like athletes' foot or thrush, are relatively common and are usually not serious. But in those with underlying conditions or compromised immune systems, fungal infections can be deadly.In recent weeks, the World Health Organisation has warned of the serious threat that fungi pose to humans with a new report and list of priority fungal pathogens. In this episode of
Episode 137: The biggest ever bird flu outbreak: what you need to know
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Charlotte talks to Dr Ian Brown about what makes this year’s bird flu outbreak bigger and more worrisome than before.Music:Maarten Schellekens – Sweet Dreams – Middle-East Remix (freemusicarchive.org)
Episode 136: A Global Problem: Investigating the spread of Antimicrobial Resistance genes
In this episode of Microbe Talk Charlie talks to Dr Fiona Walsh about her team's research into how widespread plasmids carrying antimicrobial resistance genes are around the world, and what we can do about it.Music:Leatherbound by Blue Dot Sessions(www.sessions.blue)
Episode 135: Manuka honey could help treat a deadly drug-resistant lung infection
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Charlie talks to Dr Jonathan Cox about his team's newly published research on a surprising use for Manuka honey. Music: Leatherbound by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Episode 134: Polio is back in the news: here's what you need to know
In this episode Charlie and Charlotte talk to Professor Nicola Stonehouse, Professor in Molecular Virology at the University of Leeds, about why we're talking about polio again, and what we need to know about it.Music: Mango Breeze - Allison & VexentoVideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hzcHUK4WaASupport by RFM - NCM: https://youtu.be/xMUOdsywWcs
Episode 133: Are Meat Alternative Foods Good For You?
In this episode, Charlie talks to Jonathon Woods, a PhD student from Northumbria University about his research into the impact of meat alternative foods on the gut microbiome.True Blue Sky by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Episode 132: The impact of COVID on research and career progression part 2
Listen to part two of our new episode of ‘Microbe Talk’, where we chat to some of our early career members about the cracks that exist in academia, and what needs to be done to safeguard the future of the microbiology research and innovation workforce.
Episode 131: The impact of COVID on research and career progression part 1
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Katie and Eva from our Policy and Engagement team chatted with early career microbiologists Colman O’Cathail, Raphael Galleh, Natalie Ring McBrien and Helen Brown about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their research and career progression.
Episode 130: Engaging Microbiology: Into the Microverse
Teaching and outreach in championing and advancing the understanding of microbiology is incredibly important. On this month's episode, I'm talking to Eliza Wolfson and Lizah van de Aart, two former microbiologists turned scientific illustrators and artists, about their work creating scientific art, and how scientific art can be used for scientific engagement.https://ko-fi.com/intothemicro
Episode 129: Annual Conference 22 Highlights
On this month's MicrobeTalk, Matt takes a look back at Annual Conference; talking to delegates and staff of the Society about our first in-person conference since 2019.
Episode 128: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Microbiology Society's Annual Conference
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Charlie takes us on a behind the scenes tour of the Microbiology Society's Annual Conference preparations and talks to some staff members about this year's event.
Episode 127: Robots and Beer: The future of Non-Conventional Yeasts in the Brewing Industry
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Charlie talks to Jose Aguiar-Cervera, a final year PhD student at the University of Manchester working at Singer Instruments. Listen to Charlie and Jose discuss his research into non-conventional yeasts in cider brewing, and how the future of the industry is being shaped by robots.
Episode 126: Microbe Talk: How does the circadian rhythm affect infection?
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Matt talks to Ryan Hames, a PhD student from the University of Leicester, UK. Listen to Matt and Ryan discuss his research into the circadian rhythm and how it affects the body’s immune response to invasive infection.
Episode 125: Infectious: Pathogens and How We Fight Them
COVID-19 has put the subject of infections and pathogens firmly on the centre stage. But it can be difficult to know where to go to find information that is easy to understand and that you can trust. This week Matt talks to Dr Tregoning, author of ‘Infectious: pathogens and how we fight them’, a book that gives a fascinating overview of our ongoing fight against pathogens, uncovering succ
Episode 124: Hunting for microbes at the bottom of the ocean
In this month’s episode, Laura speaks with Emma Keeler, research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania’s Bushman Lab. Emma recently completed a research project investigating whether the fungi that live at the bottom of the ocean – specifically around hydrothermal vents – could be the source of new antimicrobial compounds. Follow Emma on Twitter @emviricota and find out more about h
Episode 123: MicroNews July
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing how tube worms survive in the deep sea, why scientists are building a mangrove in the lab and the recent algal blooms of Lake Superior.
Episode 122: MicroNews June
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the a designer handbag made of fungus, how algae can help restore eyesight and why scientists are infecting mosquitoes with bacteria.It’s this season’s must-have Hermès bag. And it’s made fro
Episode 121: Microbiology Today: the impact of air pollution on bacteria
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Laura speaks with Lillie Purser, PhD student at the University of Leicester. Lillie’s research explores how air pollution can affect the way bacteria behave, specifically strains of bacteria involved in the health condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Find out more about Lillie and her colleagues at the University of Leicester’s research
Episode 120: MicroNews May
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the way antibiotics work, a positive story about sea star wasting disease and the importance of soil-dwelling protists.
Episode 119: Bovine tuberculosis
In this episode of Microbe Talk, Laura and Professor Stephen Gordon from University College Dublin discuss tuberculosis research in both people and animals. Find out more about Professor Gordon's research in the below articles:Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Humanity's deadly microbial foe (doi: 10.1099/mic.0.000601)Mycobacterium bovis genomics reveals transmission of infection between cattl
Episode 118: 2021 Annual Conference Super Roundup
Join Matt and Laura for this special episode of the podcast where they reflect on what took place during the Microbiology Society's Annual Conference Online 2021.
Episode 117: MicroNews March
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discuss how microbes helped centipedes evolve venom, a new automated technique that could help name new microbes and why deep-sea bacteria are completely invisible to our immune system.www.livescience.c
Episode 116: Vaccines: more questions answered
There is probably more misinformation about vaccines on the internet than any other topic. As we are the largest learned microbiological society in the UK, we decided to do something about it. We asked three experts some of the most commonly googled questions about vaccines. Check out the video on our YouTube channel to see some of the most searched vaccine questions answered: youtu.be/gI
Episode 115: MicroNews February
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the role of lizards in controlling Lyme disease, the fungus causing an amphibian apocalypse and how microbes could be used for green building materials.
Episode 114: MicroNews January
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the microbes beetles use to hide their food, sea star wasting disease and the inherited microbiome of plants.We know almost nothing about giant viruses: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/ar
Episode 113: Joi Hok! Breaking the stigma of tuberculosis in India
In the first episode of 2021, Matt talks to Sreyashi Basu who with her collaborator Sanjib Bhakta, was awarded the Outreach prize for their Joi Hok! initiative. The project uses traditional art forms and music to communicate knowledge of tuberculosis to school children in India.To find out more about Joi Hok: Joi Hok YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6UR4H9DuDeRzqRPEUZc2pA/featu
Episode 112: Microbiology and art
In this episode of the podcast, Laura speaks with Dr Rod Dillon, Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster. Rod talks about his research into the protist parasite Leishmania, and how he has combined his microbiology expertise with art to communicate science in a different way.Rod recently received a grant from the Microbiology Society this, together with an Arts Council England grant
Episode 111: MicroNews November
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the microbes in your bed, the researchers using pig lungs to learn about cystic fibrosis and the antibiotic that could be used to treat Zika. Bed dust microorganisms may boost children's hea
MicroNews October
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing how microbiologists are tackling the amount of plastic waste used in laboratories, ash dieback and a COVID-19 story that Matt just couldn’t resist talking about.This month's stories:https://w
Microbiology Today: Winners of the Fleming Prize
In this Microbiology Today episode of Microbe Talk, Laura revisits interviews with some of the Microbiology Society’s Fleming Prize winners. The Microbiology Society's Fleming Prize is awarded each year to an early career researcher who has achieved an outstanding research record within 12 years of being awarded their PhD. As part of our 75th Anniversary celebrations, the Microbiology Soc
MicroNews September
MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss microbiology in the news over the last month. As COVID-19 is taking over the news elsewhere, we decided to focus on other stories from the microbial world, including a surge in plankton in the Arctic, using fungus to produce handbags and the microbiology behind June's mass elephant die-off.Flu jabs limited due to
A new age for conferences?
The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed how we live and work. For scientists, this means that for the time being conferences have had to change. At the Microbiology Society, we recently held an online conference for early career microbiologists. In this month’s episode, Matt talks to Meaghan Castledine, a PhD student who spoke at the conference. They discuss how she got into microbio
