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 and environmental outputs in beef cattle.
The need to feed an ever growing global population while also being required to limit the negative impacts on the environment associated with livestock production is a major challenge for global agriculture. Methane originating from ruminant livestock production is responsible for nearly 40% of global agriculture’s emissions, with cattle identified as the main contributor. Here in Ireland in particular, agriculture is the single largest contributor (~30%) to overall Greenhouse Gas emissions, and it is important to develop and implement abatement strategies through dietary management and breeding tools.
Freshly opened, sweet as ever:
Last week, Dr Tina Joshi and colleagues from the University of Plymouth Institute of Translational and Stratified Medicine arranged a series of activities to engage the public and students for World Antibiotic Awareness Week. The events ran from 12-16th November 2018 and included a “Superbugs Pub Quiz”, research poster exhibition and a Film Screening in association with the Longitude Prize (NESTA). Here, Tina Joshi discusses the potential impact of these events to increase awareness of the antibiotic resistance crisis:
Resistant bacteria are capable of passing on the tools they use for resistance to other bacteria. As these beneficial genes are spread throughout bacterial populations there are concerns that, eventually, certain antibiotics will be rendered useless.
Willie Russell, molecular virologist and supporter of the Microbiology Society: an obituary.