Young Innovators & Early Career Research
Early career research is crucial for science, and in delivering applied microbiology to the world. This page is focused on showcasing innovations and research from early career researchers across the globe and provides a hub for the latest news, opinions, careers advice and research for early career scientists. Discover how interdisciplinary colleagues from around the world are making advancements in, and through, applied microbiology.
News
Probiotics and prebiotics offer safer alternatives to antibiotics in animal agriculture
A new study shows how probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics can safely enhance growth and immunity in livestock, and balance the growth of intestinal microbes, offering practical alternatives to antibiotics.
Read story
NewsAnts signal deadly infection in altruistic self-sacrifice
Researchers have discovered that terminally ill ant brood, like infected cells, release an odor signaling their impending death and the risk they pose. This sophisticated early warning system facilitates rapid detection and removal of pathogenic infections.
NewsPoint-of-care rapid tests can improve screening for latent tuberculosis
A new test shows promising results for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in resource-limited settings. Latent tuberculosis is often diagnosed using a laboratory test called QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus - this was compared with another test, TB-Feron.
NewsNew global guidelines streamline environmental microbiome research
A team of nearly 250 researchers from 28 countries has developed a new set of reporting guidelines for environmental microbiomes called STREAMS. The guidelines are organized by the structure of a scientific manuscript and help ensure that important details aren’t overlooked.
More Early Career Research
Careers
Summer studentship: Oliver probes AMR in neonatal sepsis - and use of novel bacterial screening methods.
Oliver Spiller-Boulter, from Cardiff, reports back on his AMI-sponsored summer studentship which examined antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in neonatal sepsis and the use of novel bacterial screening methods.
CareersScientific Event Travel Grant: Hannah returns with renewed motivation and new ideas
Dr Hannah Trivett, University of Birmingham, reports back from EMBL Human Microbiome Conference held in Heidelberg, Germany, where she presented her research with the support of AMI’s Scientific Event Travel Grant.
NewsMetabolites produced in the intestine play a central role in controlling obesity and diabetes
A study has identified a group of metabolites that travel from the intestine to the liver and then to the heart, where they are pumped throughout the body. These metabolites play an important role in controlling metabolic pathways in the liver and insulin sensitivity.
NewsResearchers warn: Climate change could expand habitats for malaria mosquitoes
A new study shows that future climate change could create more favourable conditions for malaria mosquitoes, exposing millions of people across large parts of Africa to more dangerous mosquito bites.
NewsIsland-wide field surveys illuminate land-sea connections in Mo‘orea
A multi-year scientific expedition determined that land use on tropical islands can shape water quality in lagoons and rainfall can be an important mediator for connections between land and lagoon waters.
NewsSoil carbon decomposition varies vastly, holding implications for climate models
A new study shows that even under uniform laboratory conditions, the rate of organic carbon decomposition in soil samples collected across the U.S. differed by up to tenfold, in part due to variations in soil mineral and microbial properties.
NewsDiphtheria toxin fragment harnessed to fuse lipid vesicles at neutral pH
Researchers have discovered a novel way to fuse lipid vesicles at neutral pH. By harnessing a fragment of the diphtheria toxin, the team achieved vesicle membrane fusion without the need for pre-treatment or harsh conditions, opening the door to new applications.
NewsScientists develop world’s first modular co-culture platform for the one-pot production of rainbow-colored bacterial cellulose
The team engineered Komagataeibacter xylinus for bacterial cellulose synthesis and Escherichia coli for natural colorant overproduction. A co-culture of these engineered strains enabled the in situ coloration of bacterial cellulose.
NewsResearchers diagnose disease with a drop of blood, a microscope and AI
Scientists have developed an automated, high-throughput system that relies on imaging droplets of biofluids for disease diagnosis in an attempt to reduce the number of consumables and equipment needed for biomedical testing.
NewsMedications change our gut microbiome in predictable ways
A study shows that many of the changes to the gut microbiome are driven by competition for nutrients – medications reduce certain bacterial populations and change the availability of nutrients, and the bacteria most able to capitalize on those changes are the ones to survive.
NewsThe leading causes of mass mortality events in sea urchins are pathogens, storms, and extreme temperatures
Researchers have identified the primary drivers of sea urchin mass mortality events over recent decades: pathogens, storms, and extreme temperatures. The team have developed an innovative method for genetic sampling in marine environments - using a swab similar to a COVID-19 test, to enable rapid and non-invasive monitoring of marine animals and underwater disease outbreaks.
CareersSummer studentship: Megan investigates the mobile gene element that gives MRSA its clout
Megan Stenton reports back on her AMI-sponsored summer studentship which investigated the frequency of the SCCmec gene - a mobile gene element that houses the methicillin resistance gene - across members of the same species of Staphylococcus aureus.
NewsTraces of bacteria inside brain tumors may affect tumor behavior
Scientists have uncovered unexpected traces of bacteria within brain tumors. This discovery offers new insights into the environment in which brain tumors grow and sets the stage for future studies seeking to improve treatment outcomes.
NewsNext-generation microbiome medicine may revolutionize the treatment of Parkinson’s and similar disorders
Scientists have engineered the probiotic bacterium Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 as a drug-delivery system that continuously produces and delivers the gold-standard Parkinson’s drug Levodopa, which is converted to dopamine in the brain. E. coli Nissle strain was chosen for its century-long record of safely treating gastrointestinal disorders in humans.
CareersSummer studentship: Jonas investigates how metals influence bacterial ecosystems
Jonas Flohr from Portsmouth reports back on his AMI-sponsored summer studentship at Durham University investigating how metals influence bacterial ecosystems.
NewsScientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry
The Epstein-Barr virus is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, a study has shown.
NewsTiny diatoms, big climate impact: How microscopic skeletons rapidly shape ocean chemistry
Researchers have found that diatoms’ intricate, silica-based skeletons transform into clay minerals in as little as 40 days. Until the 1990s, scientists believed that this enigmatic process took hundreds to thousands of years.
NewsScientists reveal how cyanobacteria use ’sunscreen’ to adapt to climate
Using single particle spectroscopy, researchers revealed insights into how different types of photosynthetic bacteria can use a shared mechanism to protect themselves from too much sunlight.
NewsMicrobiome around Xanthomonas infection in tomato plants signposts scientists to the bacterium of its downfall
Scientists have uncovered a bacterium in the microbiome of tomato leaves that can be used to fight back against infection by Xanthomonas, a disease that poses a major challenge to tomato growers worldwide.