Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Marine microorganisms inhabit diverse environments and interact over different spatial and temporal scales. To fully understand how these interactions shape genome structures, cellular responses, lifestyles, community ecology and biogeochemical cycles, integration of diverse approaches and data is essential.
As we enter 2017, Nature Microbiology completes its first year as a journal dedicated to publishing work of the highest quality from across the field. And what a year it has been. We take this opportunity to mark up the report card and check on our progress.
Dysbiosis, an imbalance in the microbiota, has been a major organizing concept in microbiome science. Here, we discuss how the balance concept, a holdover from prescientific thought, is irrelevant to — and may even distract from — useful microbiome research.
Time, the master regulator of work–life balance, is a rare commodity. Parenting further depletes its stock, so support systems are needed to help investigators navigate the early stages of parenthood and minimize the impact on scientific advancement and career progression.
The declaration of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance culminates an unprecedented period of efforts to change the politics of antimicrobials and global health. Now begins the onerous task of translating the new-found political will into real-world action.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to solve the most serious global economic, societal and environmental issues. The microbiology community is in a unique position to help tackle this ambitious agenda for sustainable development.
The threat of antimicrobial resistance causing drug-resistant infections and the escalating health, social and economic consequences are now becoming visible at a global level. Here, we discuss the economic and political considerations for creating a truly global and effective response to antimicrobial resistance.
By removing ambiguity and opacity in how we communicate with authors and by striving for timely and efficient handling of all manuscripts, Nature Microbiology is committed to providing a high-quality experience for all researchers submitting work for consideration, whether selected for publication or not.
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.
