- Our Members ×
-
Discrimination as a virus
July 6, 2020
There are currently two viruses causing death and destroying lives around the world: one is coronavirus, the other is discrimination. In a previous blog on Microbe Post, featuring my Ted X Talk, I spoke in general about the similarities between viruses and discrimination: neither can be seen with the naked eye yet victims recognise how they sound and feel – they experience the results of the infection; both are highly infectious and can pass from one person to another rapidly, often without recipients being aware that they have been infected; and both can maim and kill, having the potential to affect the life of a victim every day for a lifetime. I also identified the public health strategy to ‘break the chain of infection’ as an approach that could be adopted to effectively tackle discrimination. In this blog, I will develop those ideas focusing on racism and COVID-19 in particular.
-
Adapting to a virtual word: Virtual Poster Conference 2020
June 25, 2020
In this blog, Emily Speakman discusses the virtual poster conference she and her colleagues at the University of Exeter organised to make up for those missed due to cancellation of events.
-
Answering questions about COVID-19
June 24, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought awareness of virology into the public eye in a way that has never been done before. The discussion of virology in the media isn’t going away anytime soon, and as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to be discussed in greater and more complex detail on the news, microbiologists are fielding increasingly complex questions from friends and family. Dr Lucy Thorne, Research Fellow at University College London (UCL) has produced a helpful FAQ’s list to support those who want to better understand some of the terms used by politicians and in the media, what SARS-CoV-2 is, and the measures being developed to control the pandemic.
-
COVID-19 testing in the Milton Keynes Lighthouse laboratoy
June 18, 2020
On 2 April, members of the Microbiology Society were given the opportunity to assist with testing efforts for COVID-19 in one of three 'Lighthouse laboratories'. Connor Hayward, PhD student at the University of Leeds, signed up to contribute to the testing efforts. Here, Connor reflects on how the testing process varies from his PhD research and reflects on his time at the lab.
-
In memory of Professor John F Peberdy MBE (1937-2020)
June 15, 2020
John F Peberdy MBE, Emeritus Professor of Biotechnology and Enterprise at the University of Nottingham, sadly passed away on 14 May 2020. Here, Dr Paul Dyer and Professor Rosie Bradshaw reflect on John's life and his impact on the mycology community.
-
Working with government during a public health crisis
June 11, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians are looking to experts from the scientific community to inform the government’s response to control the spread of the virus. Microbiologists have contributed to the management of many public health emergencies and we are reflecting on how members of our community have used their expertise to help manage these events. In this blog, past President of the Microbiology Society Professor Sir T. Hugh Pennington discusses his experience as Chairman of a number of Public Enquiries into outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157 in the UK.
-
Microbe Talk: Why does microbiology matter?
May 5, 2020
As you may know, 2020 is the Microbiology Society’s 75th anniversary. In order to properly commemorate this, we wanted to do some suitably big celebrations. This month's Microbe Talk is a special Microbiology Today episode. In the episode Matt talks through one of the celebratory projects, ‘Showcasing why microbiology matters’, with Dr Chloe James, Chair of the Communications Committee.
-
Fungal diseases: a silent threat you need to know about
April 26, 2020
Fungal diseases have an enormous public health impact worldwide, with low and middle-income countries disproportionately affected by fungal pathogens. Here, Dr Gerard Sheehan, Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, explains why it is important to research fungal diseases.
