Matters Microbial

Latest Episodes:

Matters Microbial #9: Colorful microbes, citizen science, and tools for all Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

Today Sebastian Cocioba, a citizen scientist with myriad interests, talks with us about his path in science, some of the tools he has made for others, and how he views science and scientists.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Sebastian Cocioba

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Links for this episode

The article on Carl Woese that I wrote can be found here.
An article on the felt sculpture of Carl Woese is here.
The artist who created that sculpture, Amy Wright, has a website here.
The American Society for Microbiology's moving and informative video about Carl Woese is here.
A heartwarming snippet from "Ted Lasso" regarding the Walt Whitman quote is here.
Here is a great interview with Sebastian Cocioba.
Sebastian Cocioba's website is here.
Sebastian Cocioba's online research notebook is here.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #8: Who goes there? Going deep in the Pine Barrens with Lauren Seyler Sep 22, 2023

Show notes

Microbes are everywhere and do remarkable things—-like breathing metal! Lauren Seyler joins us today to discuss the microbial mysteries of New Jersey's Pine Barrens.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Lauren Seyler

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Links for this episode

A beautiful essay on tardigrades can be found here.
Weird and wonderful (mythical?) cryptids around the US described here. Hallowe'en fun!
Frivolous Forest's site on Etsy is here.
A lovely overview of the Pine Barrens is here.
Some of the unusual legends of the Barrens can be found here.
An article about "bog iron" is here.
An overview of iron-related microbes is here.
An abstract of a research talk about bog iron related microbiology from Dr. Seyler's group can be found here.
Dr. Seyler's departmental site is here.
Dr. Seyler's fascinating lab website is here

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #7: Microbiology from the refrigerator with Elinne Becket Sep 15, 2023

Show notes

We exist in a sea of microbes, it is true. We only need to look. And Dr. Elinne Becket of California State University San Marcos, joins Mark to describe some of the work she and her undergraduate colleagues are doing. And a popular hashtag on social media: #BlueSoup. Welcome to our quality quorum, Elinne!

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Elinne Becket

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Links for this episode

An essay on gooseneck flasks, Louis Pasteur, and spontaneous generation can be found here.
Lizah van der Aart creates wonderful microbiologically oriented pins here.
Caulobacter is a fascinating organism, as you can see here.
Here is a short video of the #LuxArt made by my #Bio350 #Micronauts this fall.
Maggie Middleton creates fabulous science art here.
A wonderful description of Dr. Becket's #BlueSoup story.
Another telling of the #BlueSoup tale!
Dr. Becket's wonderful laboratory website can be found here.
Dr. Becket's thread on Twitter/X describing the #BlueSoup excitement as it happened is here.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #6: What's the buzz on honeybee microbes? With Irene Newton Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

It is true that microbes are everywhere, and have impacts and applications that are often unexpected. Today, a true microbial force of nature visits Matters Microbial: Dr. Irene Newton of the Biology Department of the University of Indiana. Irene will tell us about some of her laboratory group's recent research on how microbes interact with honeybees!

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Irene Newton

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Links for this episode

A review of manganese oxidizing bacteria can be found here.
An essay on ice nucleating bacteria can be found here.
A review of bacterial siderophores can be found here.
A press release on the work that Dr. Newton and her research group does can be found here.
Here is another such press release.
A sample publication from Dr. Newton's laboratory is here.
Dr. Newton's faculty website is here
Dr. Newton's laboratory website can be found here.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #5: Mothers, Microbes, and Dung Beetles Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

It's interesting to think about the microbes in and on us—some of which are vital to our well being—and how we came to possess them. Mark introduces Dr. Anne Estes of Towson University, who will discuss this very topic as it applies to dung beetles.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Anne Estes

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Links for this episode

Microbial fossils—stromatolites—are fascinating. A description of Gunflint stromatolites can be found here.
Rachael Webster (wonderful artist) can be found here.
Jane Hartman's wonderful art is found here.
Dr. Jack Gilbert's book, "Dirt is Good" is described here.
A video about the life of dung beetles is here.
Dr. Estes' faculty website is here.
Dr. Estes blog can be found here.
Here is an article that Dr. Estes wrote: "Brood Ball-Mediated Transmission of Microbiome Members in the Dung Beetle, Onthophagus taurus."

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #4: Extreme Microbial Closeups: Cryo-EM and Fine Structure of Microbes with Ariane Briegel Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

Everyone thinks microbes are very small, and most of them are. But how to see them? The microscope opened a whole new world to the observer, starting with the Dutch microbiologist Antonie van Leeuvenhoek. But photographs and peering through lenses have limitations. Mark introduces his friend and colleague, Ariane Briegel of the Institute of Biology at Leiden University to Matters Microbial. She discusses how her own work can allow us to see microbes at extremely fine detail using a technique called cryo-electron microscopy (cryEM). She will also discuss her path in science.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Ariane Briegel

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Links for this episode

The Martian meteorite from which my specimen was taken is described here.
Custom enamel pins by Hartiful can be found here.
The website of the great microbiologist and science artist Lizah van der Aart is here.
Here is a video discussing the role played by van Leeuvenhoek in microbial science that is SO worth your time.
Dr. Briegel's lab website is very interesting.
An explainer about cryoEM can be found here
A really fine talk by Dr. Briegel about her work from ASM Microbe a few years ago.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #3: How much of you is microbial? With Seth Bordenstein Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

Who are you? Human or a group of microbes? Mark discusses this with this with Dr. Seth Bordenstein of Penn State. Seth teaches Mark about a new word, holobiont, and the most successful pandemic in history (of invertebrates) that may help in the fight against malaria, Wolbachia! Finally, Seth discusses his team outreach efforts to teach critical thinking and STEM in students with Discover the Microbes Within.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Seth Bordenstein

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Links for this episode

Maggie Middleton's (the "Vexed Muddler") art website.
Seth Bordenstein's lab website.
Discover the Microbes Within website.
A useful review of the holobiont concept from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A recent and philosophical review of the holobiont concept from Frontiers in Psychology.
Another review of the holobiont concept from the American Society for Microbiology.
Wood rats, creosote, and the microbiome via Kevin Kohl in Frontiers in Microbiology.
Evidence that the microbiome can impact drug effectiveness in Gut.
A review on Wolbachia and the effect it has on hosts in Nature Reviews in Microbiology.
An article describing how Wolbachia can be used to fight viral diseases in Frontiers in Immunology.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #2: Shock and awe microbiology and a chat with Mya Breitbart Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Mark discusses some "shock and awe" concepts about the microbial world that he introduces to his microbiology students, and asks three important questions about microbiology and microbiologists with guest Dr. Mya Breitbart of the University of South Florida.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Mya Breitbart

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Links for this episode

MicrobeTV Discord Server
Ice nucleation information
A video of ice nucleation
A funny video by my students
Deinococcus radiodurans
Pink pigmented methylotrophs
Some wonderful #LuxArt sessions I have done: one, two, three, four
Dr. Breitbart's faculty website
Dr. Breitbart's laboratory website
Dr. Breitbart's visit to This Week in Virology

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #1: A microbiological introduction and a chat with Vincent Racaniello Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

In the first episode of Matters Microbial, Mark introduces himself and his history, talks a bit about his goals for this podcast, then asks three important questions about microbiology and microbiologists with his first guest, Vincent Racaniello.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Vincent Racaniello

Become a patron of Matters Microbial!

Links for this episode

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com