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
Wearable nanotech could combat nerve agents
Fungi-inspired nanoparticles could someday provide a new way to help soldiers fight back against deadly nerve agents on the frontline. Scientists developed a nanoparticle-based compound that, when mixed into clothing dyes, could limit the impact of chemicals commonly found in pesticides, insecticides and nerve agents.
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NewsResearch illuminates the bustling molecular communities inside bacterial cells
Scientists have often thought of cells as small bustling cities with parts that resemble factories, power grids, and shipping systems. Past research hasn’t had the tools to probe more deeply into how those different components interact, but researchers have now deployed cryo-electron tomography to visualise how different cellular processes are connected.
NewsResearch advances understanding of tick-borne Powassan virus
Researchers characterized changes in brain microRNAs during Powassan virus infection. MicroRNAs are tiny, natural molecules that help regulate how cells function by controlling protein production. The researchers found that these important regulators were widely disrupted as the infection progressed.
NewsResearchers develop AI tool that reveals hidden clues in the gut microbiome
Researchers are using artificial intelligence to uncover hidden clues among the trillions of bacteria living in the human gut, including changes that could one day help scientists detect diseases earlier.
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News
Frog’s coat of bacterial armor helps protect it from fungal disease
The bacteria living on frogs’ skin could serve a vital role in protecting the animal from a deadly fungal disease. A team of researchers found that frogs’ natural skin bacteria can help them fight disease and improve their chances of survival.
NewsNew insights into coral reproductivity could help protect our reefs
Scientists have uncovered an important missing piece in the puzzle of how some coral reefs can recover from climate events, providing critical information that could help guide future conservation and restoration efforts.
NewsCurrents in an Arctic sea accelerate the sinking of carbon-carrying phytoplankton
Documenting the seasonal fate of these tiny marine organisms is a step toward understanding how ecosystems in the world’s fastest-warming region may change as ice recedes.
NewsHot spring organism breaks record for heat tolerance of complex life
Scientists describe a new species of amoeba that can eat and reproduce in hot spring water as warm as 63°C (145°F) in California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park. The amoeba can protect itself at temperatures up to 70°C (158°F) by changing shape and forming a protective outer layer.
NewsGut microbiome development may help predict type 1 diabetes in children at high risk
A new prospective study found that children at high genetic risk of type 1 diabetes whose gut microbiome development plateaued early had about three times the risk of developing the disease compared with children whose microbiomes continued to mature.
NewsNovel database reveals hidden diversity and potential of deep-sea microbes
Scientists have spearheaded Global Ocean Reference Genomes Dark (GORG-Dark), the first global atlas of single-cell microbes living in the aphotic ocean. It contains more than 9,600 genomes from individual microbial cells collected across a broad range of depths and locations, including the Mariana Trench and the Antarctic.
NewsDeleting yeast DNA to save lives
People with weakened immune systems and some other conditions can experience an overgrowth of Candida yeasts, leading to a type of infection known as candidiasis. It might be possible to save these patients by using CRISPR to delete the very genes that let infectious Candida resist treatment - but which genes are responsible?
NewsGut microbiome features predict devastating disease affecting preemies
In a discovery that challenges long-standing assumptions about necrotizing enterocolitis, researchers have identified previously unknown predictors for the disease. They found that bacteria-infecting viruses and bacterial antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiomes of babies are additional harbingers of necrotizing enterocolitis.
NewsFirst-of-its-kind preventative phage therapy provides promising results
The mammalian gut microbiome is teeming with a delicate balance of bacteria and the phages that keep them in check. What if the phages in the gut could prepare for an orally ingested pathogen and strike it down as it enters the gut, negating the need for a battle?
NewsHedgehog coronaviruses may threaten cats more than humans, new study finds
Researchers have discovered how a group of coronaviruses circulating in hedgehogs invades host cells, a key to understanding their potential to jump between species and their risk of causing a pandemic in humans.
NewsHow disease-causing E. coli quickly finds a new way to grip human cells—revealing a possible target for future treatments
A new study shows how a type of disease-causing E. coli can quickly adapt when it loses one of its main ways of attaching to the intestine. The bacteria either change shape or make small changes to a protein that strengthens their grip on human cells.
CareersHow a sceptic was won over: Charlotte Wilson on her internship with AMI
Fourth year PhD student Charlotte Wilson admits she was sceptical before she embarked on her PIPS internship with Applied Microbiology International’s Communications and Marketing Team - but here’s how it turned out.
NewsDangerous strings of bacteria use flow to spread colonies
Researchers have identified how certain dangerous bacteria are spread. They studied chain-like adherence pattern (CLAP) varieties of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), finding that single bacteria attach to a surface and elongate before dividing, producing chains without ever separating.
NewsFertilizers and extreme heat are damaging coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico
Scientists analyzing nitrogen isotopes in the calcareous skeletons of corals have discovered that the high levels of nitrogen in the northern Gulf originate from the Mississippi River and are attributable to the use of fertilizers.
NewsWhen antiviral defense and autoimmunity collide: New insights into lupus genetics
Researchers have found that a common lupus-associated genetic variant may strengthen antiviral immune responses while increasing the risk of autoimmunity.
NewsThese bacteria can change their diet to survive inside the body
The team have found that Staphylococcus aureus can adjust its diet depending on what sources remain available. The bacterium can adjust its inner workings in response to any one of a number of different sulfur-containing compounds — like cysteine, glutathione or thiosulfate.
NewsC. diff coordinates threat response to survive in gut
Researchers have discovered a unique system C. diff uses to simultaneously sense and respond to two different threats: host-mediated nutrient deprivation and a microbiota-produced antibiotic compound, suggesting new therapeutic options for preventing and treating C. diff infections.
NewsNew study details the finding of the first known live kissing bug in Europe
Students taking a Medical Entomology class donned their detective hats and helped investigate what appears to be the first documented live kissing bug in Europe.
NewsSuper-resolution imaging reveals details inside living cells
A new fluorescence microscopy technique that generates super-resolution images from a single camera exposure could help researchers study rapid movements within cells that are difficult to capture with existing methods.