News from the NRP Strategic Alliances and NRP research partners

Congratulations to Laura Lehtovirta-Morley on her EU funding for nitrogen cycling research

October 2, 2019 12:03: pm | by Sarah Clarke

Dr Lehtovirta-Morley, a Royal Society fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at UEA since 2017, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant of €1.5M to study nitrogen-cycling microorganisms in the soil. Modern agriculture relies heavily on the use of nitrogen-based fertilisers, but a vast proportion of the fertiliser is lost [Continue reading»]

Mauritian Conservation Science and Management Meeting, Cardiff, June 2019

July 2, 2019 1:27: pm | by Sarah Clarke

The Mauritian Conservation Science and Management Meeting was held at Cardiff University on the 19th and 20th June 2019. The two-day meeting showcased a large range of conservation projects on endangered wildlife and flora of Mauritius. This included studies on the Echo Parakeet, Mauritius Kestrel, Mauritius Fody, the Bojer’s Skinks on the South-eastern islands, critically [Continue reading»]

Hydrocarbon cycling at the bottom of the Mariana Trench

April 24, 2019 11:44: am | by Sarah Clarke

Researchers in China and the UK, including Jonathan Todd and David Lea-Smith at the UEA School of Biological Sciences, and Nikolai Pedentchouk at the UEA School of Environmental Sciences, have published a paper in the journal Microbiome, investigating the microbial populations at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This trench reaches a depth of 11,000 metres, the lowest known [Continue reading»]

Evolutionary genomics of anthroponosis in Cryptosporidium

March 27, 2019 9:43: am | by Sarah Clarke

Generalist pathogens can infect multiple host species. In the case of anthroponotic infectious diseases, the spread is from humans to animals, whereas zoonotic diseases spread from animals to humans. Many Cryptosporidium species can infect multiple hosts, and these infections tend to result in severe diarrhoea. Diarrhoeal pathogens cause more mortality than malaria, measles, and AIDS [Continue reading»]

ELSA PhD student success at Microbes in Norwich

March 4, 2019 4:18: pm | by Sarah Clarke

Over 230 Microbiologists from across the Norwich Research Park came together to enjoy an excellent day of exciting science at Microbes in Norwich 2019. This Biennial event showcases the depth and breadth of microbiology research across the NRP. In addition to 10 research talks from newly established microbiologists on the NRP and a super Plenary [Continue reading»]

Microbes in Norwich 2019

March 4, 2019 4:13: pm | by Sarah Clarke

The Organising Committee for Microbes in Norwich 2019 would like to acknowledge support from the International Society for Microbial Ecology, Nature Microbiology and the Microbiology Society and in particular for their sponsorship of Poster Prizes for Early Career Researchers. The Poster Awards Committee chaired by Jon Todd (UEA) had a difficult job in selecting just [Continue reading»]

Blue Haze and Bacteria

February 14, 2019 10:22: am | by Sarah Clarke

Have you ever wondered what causes the blue haze over the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in the USA or the Blue Mountains in Australia? It is caused by a volatile organic compound called isoprene that is released in huge amounts by trees. Isoprene is an interesting trace gas in the atmosphere as it can [Continue reading»]

Microbial Interactions across the Norwich Research Park

November 19, 2018 3:15: pm | by Sarah Clarke

Over 100 Early Career Researchers from across the Norwich Research Park came together for a One-Day Workshop on Microbial Interactions organised by the Microbes in Norwich Team and ELSA. The line-up features speakers from UEA, the Earlham Institute, Quadrum Institute of Biosciences, the John Innes Centre and an excellent, diverse range of topics were covered. [Continue reading»]

Dr Laura Lehtovirta-Morley joins Editorial Board of The ISME Journal

September 27, 2018 10:58: am | by Sarah Clarke

Dr Laura Lehtovirta-Morley, our new Dorothy Hodgkin Royal Society Research Fellow in the ELSA lab at UEA has just accepted an invitation to join the Editorial Board of The ISME Journal. The ISME Journal is the premier journal in the field of microbial ecology with an Impact Factor of 9.5 and has recently celebrated 10 [Continue reading»]

Eternal flames and gas seeps in New York State harbour natural gas eaters

September 26, 2018 3:19: pm | by Sarah Clarke

A recent survey of natural gas seeps in New York State, which are sometimes known as “Eternal Flames,” has shown that nutritionally diverse, facultative methane oxidising bacteria are highly abundant at these environments. The lead author of this study, recently published in Microbiome, Dr Farhan Ul-Haque has shown that the ability to grow on methane [Continue reading»]