AMI President Professor Raquel Peixoto elected Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences
Applied Microbiology International (AMI) is delighted to announce that its President, Professor Raquel Peixoto, has been elected as a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), in recognition of her outstanding contributions to microbiology and marine conservation.
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Buried in the Himalayas: What wetland soil Is telling us about climate change
High up in the Indian Himalayan Region lie wetlands that most of us will never see. New research suggests these quiet, high-altitude wetlands are playing a far bigger, and far more substantial, role in the planet’s carbon budget than anyone expected, say Shweta Kadam and Dr Om Prakash Sharma who sits on AMI’s Climate Action Advisory Group.
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Faster results, harder decisions: interpreting syndromic panels in microbiological clinical practice
Every generation in diagnostic microbiology has tried to answer the same questions more quickly. Is an infection present? What is causing it? What should happen next? What has changed dramatically is how rapidly, and how broadly, laboratories can now search for answers to these questions.
Tracking the invisible: monitoring microbial processes in freshwater ecosystems using fluorescence sensing
Rivers are dynamic ecosystems driven by microbial processes that regulate carbon and nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and oxygen consumption. Despite their central role in river health, microbial processes remain mostly invisible in routine water quality monitoring programmes, which continue to focus primarily on physicochemical parameters.
How indigenous microbes could rescue the Niger Delta
Benzene contamination from decades of oil exploitation has turned the Niger Delta’s groundwater into a slow-acting poison for millions of people. Yet the solution may already be living in the contaminated sediment itself, if only the political will exists to deploy it.
Under the Lens video series
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 4
The microscopic organisms living around plant roots may hold the key to reducing agriculture’s reliance on chemical fertilisers and other non-renewable inputs, according to plant microbiome researcher Dr Davide Bulgarelli.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 3
Is raw milk safe to drink? Prof Emmanuel Adukwu is joined by Prof Nicola Holden and Dr Gil Domingue for a conversation on the societal, scientific, and health implications of this pertinent question.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 2
In our second episode, Dr Callum Cooper joins Professor Emmanuel Adukwu to talk about all things bacteriophage, from alternatives to antibiotics, social impact, and regulation.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 1
In our first episode, Professor Raquel Peixoto joins Professor Jack Gilbert for a deep dive into coral reefs, microbes, and the future of our planet.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 4
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 3
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 2
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 1
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Maybe Vitamin C isn’t just expensive urine after all
“Expensive urine” has become a convenient way of dismissing vitamin supplements taken in doses beyond what our bodies have an immediate need for. But if some unabsorbed vitamin C remains in the gastrointestinal tract, it raises an interesting question about how it could be interacting with the gut microbiome.
Shigella: A phenotypic genus in a genomic era
In an era where evolutionary relationships can be resolved down to the single-nucleotide level, Shigella stands out as a relic of phenotype-based classification: a label built on lost traits rather than shared ancestry. Yet the genus persists, defended by appeals to clinical utility, says Georgina Donovan.
Menopause may have a link to fungal skin infections
For decades, skin concerns associated with menopause, like dry skin, itching, and redness, have often been dismissed as superficial cosmetic concerns inherent to biological ageing. But these changes may reflect the underlying shifts in skin biology.
From evidence to action: how to bridge the gap between scientists and decision-makers to solve global One Health challenges
Reflections from the AMI Policy Team’s recent workshop at the 9th World One Health Congress.
Food and innovation: Reflections from FOODMicro 2026
AMI Food Security Advisory Group member Professor Marciane Magnani, a Full Professor of Food Science at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Brazil, reflects on her experiences of FOODMICRO 2026 in Slovenia.
Horizon Award winners one year on: What are they up to?
The nominations for the Horizon Awards are in - and the judges are making their decisions. While we await the big announcement, we’ve been catching up with the superstars who won in 2025.
Phage-encoded enzymes show promise against drug-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus
Researchers have characterized a set of phage-encoded enzymes that can rapidly kill a broad range of Mycobacterium abscessus clinical strains when administered on their own in laboratory tests. These lysterases help phages disrupt mycobacterial cells by cleaving ester bonds involving mycolic acids in the cell envelope.
Deep-sea nodules harbour hidden animal communities threatened by mining
Polymetallic nodules are not just mineral-rich rocks on the deep seafloor. Researchers found that their cracks and cavities shelter distinct communities of tiny animals, raising concerns that deep-sea mining could permanently destroy habitats that take millions of years to form.
Long-term nitrogen fertilisation reshapes soil microbes and links to PAH fate
Long-term nitrogen fertilisation does more than change soil nutrients. A 15-year field study found that different application rates reshaped bacterial and fungal communities and altered their genetic potential for carbon, nitrogen and PAH metabolism, suggesting that fertiliser management and legacy pollution should be considered together.
Food security
Sauce-flavor Baijiu distillers’ grains offer nutritional and functional value
A new review examines the nutritional composition, fermentation upgrading and feeding applications of sauce-flavor Baijiu distillers’ grains. It considers microbial structures, organic acids, peptides and polyphenols alongside conventional nutrients. Studies in cattle, poultry and pigs illustrate how processing and diet formulation shape feeding outcomes.
Clean Water
Viral spillover underwater: review maps how aquatic viruses leap between species and how to catch the next jump early
When pathogens leap between species, the textbook cases are terrestrial: influenza from birds, Ebola from wildlife, SARS-CoV-2 at a market. A review argues that equal attention should go to water, the world’s fastest-growing food production sector and where viruses move readily among fish, amphibians, reptiles and crustaceans.
Robotic technology helps unlock the hidden microbial world of the deep sea
New robotic technology recreates and maintains deep-sea conditions, allowing difficult-to-grow microorganisms to be studied in the laboratory. Researchers successfully recovered 34 microbial isolates from samples collected 1,300 metres beneath the Sea. The technology grew a microbe that cannot be cultivated under normal atmospheric conditions.
