Microbe Talk

Latest Episodes:

Episode 117: MicroNews March Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discuss how microbes helped centipedes evolve venom, a new automated technique that could help name new microbes and why deep-sea bacteria are completely invisible to our immune system.
www.livescience.com/deep-sea-bacteria-invisible-to-human-immune-system.html
www.the-scientist.com/notebook/researchers-propose-automating-the-naming-of-novel-microbes--68411
www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/microplastics-in-sewage-become-hubs-for-drug-resistant-bacteria-study/article34176654.ece
theconversation.com/diphtheria-could-become-a-problem-again-thanks-to-new-variants-and-antimicrobial-resistance-156973
en.brinkwire.com/science/centipedes-incorporated-the-toxic-weapons-of-bacteria-and-fungi-into-their-venoms/
www.washingtonpost.com/health/most-viruses-around-us-are-benign-some-are-even-lifesaving/2021/03/12/cd833cc0-76bc-11eb-948d-19472e683521_story.html

Episode 116: Vaccines: more questions answered Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

There is probably more misinformation about vaccines on the internet than any other topic. As we are the largest learned microbiological society in the UK, we decided to do something about it. We asked three experts some of the most commonly googled questions about vaccines. Check out the video on our YouTube channel to see some of the most searched vaccine questions answered: youtu.be/gIfOVlJDCpE

Episode 115: MicroNews February Feb 26, 2021

Show notes

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the role of lizards in controlling Lyme disease, the fungus causing an amphibian apocalypse and how microbes could be used for green building materials.

Episode 114: MicroNews January Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the microbes beetles use to hide their food, sea star wasting disease and the inherited microbiome of plants.
We know almost nothing about giant viruses: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/01/giant-viruses-can-change-their-hosts-dna/617555/
Some bacteria are suffocating sea stars, turning the animals to goo: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bacteria-suffocating-sea-stars-wasting-disease-goo
Beetle parents manipulate information broadcast from bacteria in a rotting corpse: https://theconversation.com/beetle-parents-manipulate-information-broadcast-from-bacteria-in-a-rotting-corpse-151447
Brazilian ant farm yields new antifungal compound: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/01/20/Brazilian-ant-farm-yields-new-antifungal-compound/1471611120400/?ur3=1
Seeds transfer their microbes to the next generation: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210121131652.htm
A Sustainable Future policy reports: https://microbiologysociety.org/news/society-news/a-sustainable-future-policy-reports-published-today.html

Episode 113: Joi Hok! Breaking the stigma of tuberculosis in India Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

In the first episode of 2021, Matt talks to Sreyashi Basu who with her collaborator Sanjib Bhakta, was awarded the Outreach prize for their Joi Hok! initiative. The project uses traditional art forms and music to communicate knowledge of tuberculosis to school children in India.
To find out more about Joi Hok:
Joi Hok YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6UR4H9DuDeRzqRPEUZc2pA/featured
Joi Hok Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/joihokTBcampaign/
Joi Hok Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joi.hok/?hl=en
Sreyashi Basu Twitter - https://twitter.com/sreyashibasu2?lang=en
www.joihok.org/about/

Episode 112: Microbiology and art Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of the podcast, Laura speaks with Dr Rod Dillon, Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster. Rod talks about his research into the protist parasite Leishmania, and how he has combined his microbiology expertise with art to communicate science in a different way.
Rod recently received a grant from the Microbiology Society this, together with an Arts Council England grant, was used to develop and produce The Endosymbiotic Love Calendar 2021.
The calendar is on sale now on the Endosymbiotic Love Calendar website. This project brings performance artists & microbiologists together through drag to embody a microorganism for every month of 2021 and links the vitally important world of microbiological research with feminist and queer perspectives to share biological knowledge in an innovative way. Prices include postage: £15 UK mainland (£12 concession price, no question asked), £19 Europe, £20 rest of the world. 50% of the price will be donated to The Outside Project the UK’s first LGBTIQ+ Crisis/Homeless Shelter and Community Centre.

Episode 111: MicroNews November Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing the microbes in your bed, the researchers using pig lungs to learn about cystic fibrosis and the antibiotic that could be used to treat Zika.

Bed dust microorganisms may boost children's health, study suggests

Understanding lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis
Check out the research article in Microbiology and our video about the pig lung research model.

Commonly used antibiotic shows promise for combating Zika infections

COVID-19 vaccines: when will one be ready?

Potential treatment against antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing gonorrhoea and meningitis

Asteroid-munching microbes could mine materials from space rocks

MicroNews October Oct 29, 2020

Show notes

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss some of the times microbes and microbiology have been in the news over the last month. Listen to Matt and Laura discussing how microbiologists are tackling the amount of plastic waste used in laboratories, ash dieback and a COVID-19 story that Matt just couldn’t resist talking about.
This month's stories:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016164320.htm
https://microbiologysociety.org/news/press-releases/does-science-have-a-plastic-problem-microbiologists-take-steps-to-reducing-plastic-waste.html
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/oct/14/tardigrades-latest-superpower-a-fluorescent-protective-shield
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54373214
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/25/any-breed-could-do-it-dogs-might-be-covid-testers-best-friend

Microbiology Today: Winners of the Fleming Prize Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

In this Microbiology Today episode of Microbe Talk, Laura revisits interviews with some of the Microbiology Society’s Fleming Prize winners. The Microbiology Society's Fleming Prize is awarded each year to an early career researcher who has achieved an outstanding research record within 12 years of being awarded their PhD. As part of our 75th Anniversary celebrations, the Microbiology Society planned the Fleming Showcase to celebrate the legacy of past Fleming Prize winners and to examine some of the most exciting science from around the globe.
Hear from some other Fleming Prize winners in October’s issue of Microbiology Today.
Watch the film with Professors Tracy Palmer, David Richardson and Peter Fineran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imx26YF-R30&feature=emb_title

MicroNews September Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

MicroNews is the sister series of our podcast Microbe Talk, where we discuss microbiology in the news over the last month. As COVID-19 is taking over the news elsewhere, we decided to focus on other stories from the microbial world, including a surge in plankton in the Arctic, using fungus to produce handbags and the microbiology behind June's mass elephant die-off.
Flu jabs limited due to high demand: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54273172
To find out more, check out the Flu Review episode: microbiologysociety.org/blog/microbe-…u-review.html of Microbe Talk.
A massive surge in phytoplankton has researchers pondering the future of the Arctic: www.nrdc.org/stories/massive-su…ring-future-arctic
Phages: the tiny viruses that could help beat superbugs: www.theguardian.com/global-developm…-beat-superbugs
Is there life floating in the clouds of Venus?: www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54133538
That mushroom motorcycle jacket will never go out of style: www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/scienc…email&login=email
Mystery elephant deaths caused by cyanobacteria: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-54234396

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