Microbe Talk

For countries like Malaysia, Tanzania and the Philippines, seaweed agriculture is a major industry. However, these countries still see significant crop losses due to disease and pests. So what role does microbiology have in helping these countries’ growth in the industry?

On this month’s episode Matt visited London’s Natural History Museum to talk to Professor Juliet Brodie. Professor Brodie is a seaweed researcher working with GlobalSeaweedSTAR, a programme aiming to grow the research and innovation capabilities of developing countries engaged in seaweed farming.
To find out more about GlobalseaweedSTAR’s work, visit their website.
www.globalseaweed.org/

This is a special Microbiology Today edition of Microbe Talk. The latest issue of the Society’s magazine, Microbiology Today, focuses on natural products and drug discovery. In this podcast we talk with two researchers about their work to find new antimicrobial compounds that could be used to form new treatments: Lorena T. Fernández-Martínez from Edge Hill University about her research on actinomycetes and Aled Roberts from Swansea University Medical School about his work on manuka honey.

Find out more about natural products and drug discovery in the November issue of Microbiology Today: https://microbiologysociety.org/microbiologytoday

Anyone who’s been enjoying the sun on a nice summers evening knows the dreaded whine made by mosquitoes on the hunt for a meal. In recent years mosquitoes have been appearing in the news more and more due outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and zika. As if getting bitten by a mosquito wasn’t bad enough, if it is carrying the arbovirus, the saliva causing the annoying itchy bumps is actually helping the arbovirus infect you.

On this month’s episode, Matt talks to Daniella Lefteri, finalist of the 2019 Young Microbiologist of the Year. Daniella is researching the enhancing effect of this saliva and how it might be able to help in the growing arbovirus problem.

To find out more about Daniella and her research, read her interview with us on our blog: https://microbiologysociety.org/blog/meet-the-young-microbiologist-of-the-year-finalists-daniella-lefteri.html

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbiology has been in the news during the past month. In this episode, Matt and Laura discuss the differences in microbial diversity in rural and urban areas, climate change and its effect on otters and a piece of new research investigating how an emerging virus might affect frogs.
Links to the news stories discussed during this episode can be found below:
Violet coral fungus seen in Wales https://bbc.in/35J9uWQ
Abundance of microbe diversity key to healthy coastal ecosystem https://bit.ly/2L37Nvl
Sea ice loss linked to spread of deadly virus https://bbc.in/2DrqggZ
Urban houses could have higher diversity of fungus than rural houses https://n.pr/2sr0dnR
‘Velcro’ style test could spot Alzheimer’s years before symptoms develop https://bit.ly/2rAaptA
New species of ranavirus threatens frogs https://bit.ly/2ORQrmf
Antibiotics price drop could reduce development of TB https://bit.ly/2qJRcG7

This month on Microbe Talk is the third episode of Domino Effect, the podcast series where a Microbiology Society member is interviewed by another microbiologist who they have never met before. In this episode, Sarah Jones, PhD student in geomicrobiology at Birkbeck and UCL, is interviewed by Dr John Tregoning, Reader in Respiratory Infections at Imperial College London.

In this episode, Laura and Matt discuss deadly fungi, the flu vaccine and how scientists are making carbon fibers out of algae.

Links to the news stories discussed during this episode can be found below:

Poison fire coral found in Australia: bit.ly/2Nogf8Q
Tsunamis linked to spread of deadly fungal disease: bbc.in/2oxacq0
Researchers turn algae into material as hard as steel: bit.ly/2r17EkX
Badger culls risk increased spread of bovine tuberculosis to cattle: bbc.in/2WAeN7t
Could green tea hold the solution to rising antimicrobial resistance? bit.ly/2PAKLPE
Flu vaccine offered to every primary school child in England: bit.ly/36oqQZV

In this month’s episode of the podcast, Laura speaks with two experts on the relationship with certain microbes and cancer: Professor Paul Farrell, of Imperial College London, and Dr Karen Robinson, from the University of Nottingham.

Paul Farrell: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/p.farrell
Karen Robinson: https://nddcbru.org.uk/team/dr-karen-robinson

Find out more about the relationship between Epstein-Barr Virus and Cancer in Paul’s review: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-pathmechdis-012418-013023?journalCode=pathmechdis

Research in the Journal of Medical Microbiology investigated how the gut microbiota could be used to predict whether you are likely to develop cancer: https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001049

This is a special Microbiology Today edition of the podcast. The latest issue of the Society’s magazine, Microbiology Today, focuses on arboviruses and their vectors. In this episode, we discuss some of the prevention strategies and ways of managing arboviruses and their vectors with John Carr from the University of Cambridge and Ewa Chrostek from the University of Liverpool.

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbiology has been in the news that month. On this month’s episode Laura and Matt are discussing superdrug sniffer dogs, koalas and chlamydia and Valley Fever.

Links to the news stories discussed during this episode can be found below:

'Carnivorous' micro-organisms: www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/wo…bably-carnivore
HPV Vaccine: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49522669
Saving koalas at the University of Nottingham: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british…oalas-n38q3f0br
Common cold stopped by experimental approach: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49682583
Climate change could increase spread of Valley fever: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/…0916114034.htm
Sniffing out superbugs: vancouversun.com/news/local-news/…/health-49522669
Zombie fungus ant:www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49615571

Canine parvovirus is a highly infectious virus that kills thousands of dogs every year. The disease emerged in the 1970s and spread unchecked, causing a global epidemic in 1978. While the epidemic was halted due to the development of a vaccine, outbreaks do still occur.

On this month’s Microbe Talk, Matt talks to Dr Colin Parrish, a veterinary virologist based at Cornell University in New York, USA. Along with the emergence of canine parvovirus, Colin discusses the problems it can cause and what his lab are doing to tackle the disease.