Celebrating why microbiology matters across our 75th anniversary year
08 January 2020
In 2020 we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our founding with a year of activities dedicated to demonstrating the impact of microbiologists’ past, present and future – bringing together and empowering communities that help shape the future of microbiology. We are launching new collections of digital content to celebrate our 75th anniversary, under the heading Why Microbiology Matters. The first of these digital content hubs is dedicated to Unlocking the world of microbiomes.
Microbes are everywhere and affect almost all aspects of our lives. We cannot see them, but our world would not function without them. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, archaea, algae and other microscopic life forms are on us and in us, in the air, soil and water, and in our food. They are in and on the surfaces of everything in our homes, workplaces and other environments. Most do not harm us and many are essential for the good health of humans, animals and the planet.
Why Microbiology Matters
We are launching new collections of digital content to celebrate our 75th anniversary, under the heading Why Microbiology Matters. The first of these digital content hubs is dedicated to Unlocking the world of microbiomes.
In 2018 we launched a call to the community to nominate a discovery, event or activity that best highlights how microbiology answers big questions by giving us knowledge of very small things.
From the submissions received from throughout the microbiology community, we have created a series of digital content hubs, each examining an important theme in detail, including testimony from our members and microbiologists working in each area to share a wealth of rich and interactive content. We will continue to add new content to the hubs as it becomes available, therefore our list of resources will expand and be available beyond our anniversary year, as a lasting resource for the microbiology community.
If you are interested in getting involved, please email [email protected].
Unlocking the world of microbiomes: content brought together for the first time
The first content hub, Unlocking the world of microbiomes: exploring microbial communities, will also examine the microbiome and human health, agriculture and food microbiomes and environmental and industrial microbiomes.
Content will include:
- An explainer on what a microbiome is and why this rapidly developing area of research is so important.
- Interviews and case studies from our members and microbiologists working on the innovative science involved in understanding complex communities of microbes.
- Resources available to explore – including our Unlocking the Microbiome report, podcasts on microbiome research, explainer films and animation, a wealth of articles from our blog and our membership magazine Microbiology Today, as well as a dedicated collection from our journals.
We invite the community and all those interested in understanding more about microbiomes to access this wide variety of content, brought together in one place for the first time.
Six further content hubs, all on different and fascinating areas of microbiology, will be released in 2020. Look out for further updates on our website or via Twitter using the hashtag #MicrobioSoc75th.
Celebrating the impact of microbiologists past, present and future
Other anniversary events and activities during our anniversary year include our Fleming Showcase on 30 March 2020, a day dedicated to the legacy of Fleming Prize winners and demonstrating the impact of both established and up-and-coming scientists in addressing important global challenges. It will precede our Annual Conference from 31 March to 3 April 2020, our flagship event bringing together and empowering the communities that shape microbiology.
You can also get involved in our microbiology images project, which highlights how microbiology answers big questions by giving us knowledge of very small things.
We will be continuing work on our policy project, A Sustainable Future, demonstrating the value and raising the profile of microbiology in addressing the world’s biggest challenges.
Throughout 2020, we will convert our complete journal archive into the modern format, improving the visibility and reusability of our archive, and preserving our content for the long term.
In March, to coincide with World Book Day 2020, we will launch a new activity to celebrate microbiology in literature – find out more at our Annual Conference.
