Best of the blog

Spring is one of the busiest times for us here at the Society; this year was no different. As we speed through summer, it’s time to have a quick look back at some of the articles we’ve had on the Society’s blog, Microbe Post.

2015 has seen a lot of announcements of funding to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The Society’s Policy Officer, Paul Richards, pulled together all the different announcements, highlighting who said what, and when.

Continuing the political theme, in March we sponsored Dr Kevin Maringer from the University of Bristol to attend the Society of Biology’s Voice of the Future event. The occasion gave early-career researchers the opportunity to grill MPs from the UK Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee (STC). Kevin gave us a report on the event and his thoughts on how politicians can better engage with scientists.

If you missed it, April saw Birmingham host the Microbiology Society Annual Conference. The event was filled with amazing microbiology, a fraction of which we highlighted on the blog. We learnt about new research shedding light on the microbiome of diabetic foot ulcers, the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the Ganges river and whether it will be possible to create a universal vaccine for coronaviruses.

For those of us who have been to many science conferences, attendance at these events seems rather unremarkable. But can you remember the first one you went to? This year’s Annual Conference was Rachel Kettles’ first big science event; she blogged about her experience for us.

Finally in this round-up, we got to learn about Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, considered by many to be the first microbiologist. In 1677, Leeuwenhoek’s letter to the Royal Society describing animalcules caused a sensation. For the podcast I interviewed Dr Nick Lane from University College London about the importance of this work, which is being highlighted to celebrate 350 years of Proceedings of the Royal Society.

BENJAMIN THOMPSON

Head of Communications
[email protected]