Category Archives: Environmental Microbiology

Keeping up with virus taxonomy: biopesticides, African swine fever and plant diseases

Posted on November 30, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

Continuing the ‘Keeping up with virus taxonomy’ blog series, in this post we will be discussing the virus that causes African Swine Fever, a family of viruses that infects insect larvae, and the Geminiviridae — members of which cause some … Continue reading →

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Does the cattle gut microbiome affect methane output?

Posted on November 28, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

I am a second year Walsh Fellowship PhD student based in Teagasc Grange and registered at University College Dublin. The title of my project is Understanding of the role of diet, host feed efficiency and genetics on the rumen microbiome … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Microbiome | Leave a comment

Microbiomes Underpinning Agriculture – a view from Twitter

Posted on October 19, 2018 by ellenhinkley

The Microbiomes Underpinning Agriculture Focused Meeting took place at the Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork, Ireland, between 1–2 October. We’ve turned to Twitter to look at some of the highlights of the meeting.  While the last preparations were being made at … Continue reading →

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Dr Naji Bassil: Life at the Extremes

Posted on September 18, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

Microbes can colonise and transform environments that are considered harsh for humans. This was demonstrated by a team from the University of Manchester’s geomicrobiology group at Bluedot festival in their stall ‘Life at the Extremes’. This music festival, held at … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental Microbiology, Events, Grants, Microbial Evolution and Diversity | 1 Comment

Dr Catrin Williams: Living light at the National Eisteddfod of Wales

Posted on September 3, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

A little about me… I am a multidisciplinary researcher, currently based at the School of Engineering at Cardiff University. My research transgresses a number of disciplines, including microbiology (my first love!), human cell physiology and microwave engineering. My work explores … Continue reading →

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Testate amoebae: using microbes to understand the past

Posted on August 22, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

Next month, the Microbiology Society will host the 9th International Symposium on Testate Amoebae (ISTA9) in Belfast. What are testate amoebae, and how are scientists using them to determine what the landscape looked like thousands of years ago? Testate amoebae … Continue reading →

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Editor’s Choice: A new test to measure treatment of plant diseases

Posted on August 9, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

Each month, a manuscript published in our flagship journal Microbiology is chosen by a member of the Editorial Board. This month, the paper is Comprehensive screening of antimicrobials to control phytoplasma diseases using an in vitro plant–phytoplasma co-culture system, which … Continue reading →

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New to Science: August 2018

Posted on August 2, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

Each month, the Microbiology Society publishes the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (IJSEM), which details newly discovered species of bacteria, fungi and protists. Here are a few of the new species that have been discovered and the places they’ve been … Continue reading →

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Sewage science: Are bacteria just the tip of the fatberg?

Posted on May 18, 2018 by lauracoxmicrobio

The UK population continues to have a morbid fascination with fatbergs; these mammoth clumps of oil, wet wipes and human waste coagulate in sewers and grow with every flush. In 2017, a 130-tonne fatberg dubbed ‘The Beast’ made national headlines … Continue reading →

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Plastic waste: A global problem and an opportunity for microbiology

Posted on May 1, 2018 by MicrobiologySociety

Public appetite for reducing plastic waste is insatiable following the release of Blue Planet II; a series narrated by David Attenborough and focusing on the impact of human activity on the marine. At the Microbiology Society’s Annual Conference 2018, delegates … Continue reading →

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