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The Legacy of Fleming

10 February 2009 publication

The lead articles of the February 2009 issue of Microbiology Today are on the discovery of penicillin; what manner of man was Fleming?; the future of antibiotic discovery; look who's talking; and when good bugs fight bad.

‘That’s funny!’: the discovery and development of penicillin - Kevin Brown

Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic effect of penicillin quite by chance. Kevin Brown takes a look at the fortuitous discovery and how the drug was developed.

What manner of man was Alexander Fleming? - Philip Mortimer

The Society’s first President, Alexander Fleming did so much more than just discover penicillin, as Philip Mortimer describes.

Antibiotics and Streptomyces: the future of antibiotic discovery - Flavia Marinelli

There are many options still available for new antibiotics. While the search for new drugs seems to be declining, Flavia Marinelli takes a look at the need for new antimicrobials.

Look who’s talking! - Julian Davies

Antibiotics aren’t just for fighting infections. As Julian Davies describes, they play a part in the bacterial signalling network.

When good bugs fight bad - Roy Sleator

Alternative methods to antimicrobial chemotherapy for combating infectious disease do exist. Roy Sleator describes the role of probiotics in keeping pathogens at bay.

A precious memory - Norberto Palleroni

There are few people left who met or knew Alexander Fleming. Norberto Palleroni recalls his meeting with the great scientist.

The Defra-commissioned independent review of bovine tuberculosis research - Mike Barer and Charles Penn

With the Randomized Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) at an end, Defra asked SGM to review research into bovine TB and identify some new approaches. Co-chairs of the expert panel Mike Barer and Charles Penn found it a fascinating but demanding exercise. The full report can be downloaded at http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/tb-report.pdf

Comment: Debating creationism - Lucy Goodchild

2009 is also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin: the architect of the theory of evolution. Lucy Goodchild discusses the relevance of the creationism versus evolution debate for microbiologists.

Schoolzone

The recent outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe shows how relevant to everyday life this disease is. Dariel Burdass describes both the bacterium that causes the infection and the situation in Zimbabwe.

Gradline

Applying for funding for research is a big concern for early career microbiologists. In this issue, Jane Westwell looks at strategies for maximizing application success rate.

Going Public

Informing people about microbiology is important. SGM aims to promote the science to a whole range of audiences and in this issue we see how scientists get involved in public engagement and how microbes can be used to take photographs, amongst others activities.