News & Comment

The global effect of human activities on Earth's microbiota has not yet been considered. Here, we identify potential trajectories of microbial change, and highlight knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to better understand how microbial communities across the globe will change in the future.

Whole genome sequencing is often used to determine the presence of known antimicrobial resistance genes and identify new resistance mechanisms. However, without phenotypic confirmation of resistance, caution needs to be taken in attributing relevance to any genes hitherto not shown to confer drug resistance.

Multi-omic techniques are often seen as the future of microbiome studies. We argue that recent strategies for simplifying complex omic-derived data will need to be combined with improved cultivation techniques to pave the way towards a more targeted approach for understanding microbial communities.

The lead up to the Rio Olympics has been littered with concerns over Zika virus and polluted waterways rich in pathogenic viruses and potentially drug-resistant bacteria. Despite these fears, appropriate precautions should ensure the games are celebrated for their sporting triumphs, not condemned for public health failures.

Few science writers capture the attention of readers quite like Ed Yong, columnist for The Atlantic, author of soon-to-be-published I Contain Multitudes, and all-round nice guy. We asked Ed a few questions; it felt like taking Lewis Hamilton out for a Sunday drive.

Following the success of the inaugural games, the Microbial Olympics return with a new series of events and microbial competitors. The games may have moved to a new hosting venue, but the dedication to training, fitness, competition (and yes, education and humour) lives on.

Microbiomes of native peoples could provide constituents to improve our health. Research must be conducted ethically and native peoples appropriately rewarded. However, sharing our medical practice risks spoiling these microbial oases and could lead to the same disease risks that we are trying to prevent.

If the vast potential for microbiome research is to be translated into scientific advances and real world applications, the development of standard operating procedures will be necessary to ensure reproducibility and gain regulatory approval. However, standards should not come at the expense of innovation.

We asked Neil Gow, chair of microbiology at the University of Aberdeen, UK, and president of the Microbiology Society, where his fascination with fungi started, what his life as a mycologist is like, and what the future holds.

There are no antibiotic candidates simply waiting to be brought to market. Overcoming the scientific barriers to innovation will require research and coordination beyond anything that exists in academia, industry or government. We discuss a plan to accelerate the discovery of antibiotics and their transition into the clinic.

Antimicrobials have been one of the biggest success stories in medical history, but the emergence of drug resistance is threatening our ability to successfully treat infections. New approaches, interdisciplinary frameworks and policies have an important role in preventing entry into a post-antimicrobial era.

World Immunization Week 2016 gives us a chance to take stock of the current vaccine landscape, celebrate some notable successes made in recent years and face up to the challenges remaining in closing the gap to ensure that the full benefits of immunization are extended to all infants worldwide.

Integration of multiple ‘omics’ technologies will allow researchers to gain a more complete picture of the constituents and functions of microbial communities and provide far richer information for predictive modelling of community phenotypes.

The Nature Microbiology Community provides a space for researchers to freely share information and discuss ideas. We hope that this initiative encourages greater discourse and engagement with the microbiology research field.