March 18, 2019

The Journal of Medical Microbiology (JMM) is a journal published by the Microbiology Society, focused on providing a comprehensive coverage of medical, dental and veterinary microbiology and infectious diseases, including bacteriology, virology, mycology and parasitology. This month, Professor Vincent Cattoir has selected an outstanding paper from the March issue to highlight as Editor’s Choice. The paper, titled 'Agmatine accumulation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates confers antibiotic tolerance and dampens host inflammation' discusses the role of agmatine, a molecule produced by P. aeruginosa, on antibiotic resistance and the host immune response.

March 14, 2019

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the ’12 Priority Pathogens’: a list of twelve microbes that are becoming increasingly resistant to current antimicrobials. These twelve pathogens are thought by WHO to pose the greatest threat to human health.

March 12, 2019

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 some of the new species that have been discovered and the places they’ve been found.

March 6, 2019

In February this year, the Northern Ireland Science Festival took place. Here, Chris Proctor, PhD student at Ulster University and Microbiology Society Champion discusses his contribution to the event.

March 4, 2019

The January Junior Awards for Microbiology (JAM) talks took place in Birmingham on the 25 January. PhD student Matthew Whelan was speaking, and in the second of our blogs from speakers at the JAM talks, Matthew takes us through his research into Campylobacter jejuni.

March 1, 2019

Each month, a manuscript published in our flagship journal Microbiology is chosen by a member of the Editorial Board. This month, the paper is titled ‘Phylogenetic analyses of antibiotic-producing Streptomyces sp. isolates obtained from the stingless-bee Tetragonisca angustula (Apidae: Meliponini)’ and was chosen by Professor Stephen Gordon.

February 25, 2019

The RIVR (Recently Independent Virology Researchers), as the name would suggest, is a network of recently independent researchers (both lecturers and fellows) working in the field of virology. The group meets annually to network and share their science. This year, RIVR was held on 7-8 January at the Marriott Hotel in Leeds city centre. Becky Sumner attended the event through a bursary from the Journal of General Virology. Here, she discusses the event:

February 22, 2019

Last year the Microbiology Society submitted a joint response with the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM) to the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s inquiry into antimicrobial resistance. On the 24th January 2019, the UK government launched its strategy to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In this blog we highlight key points in the UK AMR Strategy and research priorities.

February 20, 2019

As a budding researcher studying antibiotic resistance, I have always tried to find fun and interesting ways to convey our research during our outreach events. For me, the answer was with board games! After developing a small card game for a lab outreach event, followed by serendipitous conversation with a collaborator in South East Asia, a project was born: I would use my Professional Internships for PhD Students placement to go and create a board game to teach about antibiotic resistance in Bangkok, Thailand.

February 18, 2019

On the 31 January, Scotland launched its Second Open Government Action Plan. Eva Scholtus from the Microbiology Society’s Policy team was in Edinburgh to celebrate the event and to participate in a workshop discussing how the plan is delivered in partnership. Here she shares Scotland’s openness commitment and the implications for science policy.