Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! A big thanks to all my readers, and please share this blog with others. The more readers, the better.

December 8th (4pm GMT): eLife Google Hangout on the link between gut bacteria and arthritis, featuring Stephen Baker, Rajat Rohatgi, and Curtis Huttenhower.

Human gut microbiome

* Maternal Obesity Is Associated with Alterations in the Gut Microbiome in Toddlers
Jeffrey D. Galley – PLOS ONE

Animal gut microbiome

Prevalence and Characterization of Escherichia coli and Salmonella Strains Isolated from Stray Dog and Coyote Feces in a Major Leafy Greens Production Region at the United States-Mexico Border – Michele T. Jay-Russell – PLOS ONE

Plant microbiome

Effects of a Ciliate Protozoa Predator on Microbial Communities in Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) Leaves – Taylor K. Paisie – PLOS ONE

A Novel Interaction between Plant-Beneficial Rhizobacteria and Roots: Colonization Induces Corn Resistance against the Root Herbivore Diabrotica speciosa – Franciele Santos – PLOS ONE

* Towards the unification of sequence-based classification and sequence-based identification of host-associated microorganisms – Joshua R. Herr – New Phytologist

Soil microbiome

Belowground biodiversity and ecosystem functioning – Richard D. Bardgett & Wim H. van der Putten – Nature

* Printing soil: a single-step, high-throughput method to isolate micro-organisms and near-neighbour microbial consortia from a complex environmental sample – Bradley R. Ringeisen – Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Water microbiome

Integrating Bacterial and Viral Water Quality Assessment to Predict Swimming-Associated Illness at a Freshwater Beach: A Cohort Study – Jason W. Marion – PLOS ONE

Massive Regime Shifts and High Activity of Heterotrophic Bacteria in an Ice-Covered Lake – Mina Bižić-Ionescu – PLOS ONE

Metagenomics, microbial genomes

Transferred interbacterial antagonism genes augment eukaryotic innate immune function – Seemay Chou – Nature

Evolutionary Ecology of the Marine Roseobacter Clade – Haiwei Luo and Mary Ann Moran – Microbial and Molecular Biology Reviews

Microbes in the news

* This Forgotten Turkey Bacteria Could Lead to the Super-Antibiotic of the Future – Motherboard

* BacteriaHysteria – Turkeys raised with antibiotics could carry bacteria – 9News

* Tech Dudes Take Credit For Female Scientist’s Work; Plan To “Hack” Vaginas So They Smell Like Peaches – Carolyn Cox

* Bacteria central: how to stop your boxing gloves from stinking – MMA Kanvas

The Oral Microbiome: From Bad Bugs to Bad Biofilm Behaviors – NIH NIDCR

Are Human Breast Milk Microbiomes ‘neutral’? – Chinese Academy of Sciences

Vultures survive toxic diet with bacterial help – ABC.AU Science

Science, publishing, and career

* Open access is tiring out peer reviewers – Martijn Arns – Nature

* Publishing: The peer-review scam – Cat Ferguson, Adam Marcus& Ivan Oransky – Nature

* Academia gets social – Brian Owens – The Lancet

* The outsourcing and commercialization of science – Is the lab CEO the future of academic research? – David R Smith – EMBO Reports

* No women alas this year: Five Stanford professors named fellows of American Association for the Advancement of Science – Stanford News

Bik’s Picks – some cool non-microbiome science articles for your Thanksgiving break

The First Myriapod Genome Sequence Reveals Conservative Arthropod Gene Content and Genome Organisation in the Centipede Strigamia maritima – Ariel D. Chipman – PLOS ONE

Identification of a Buried Cadaver Based on Finger Ridge Characteristics of a Hand Protected by a Latex Glove – Krzysztof Klemczak M.A. – Journal of Forensic Science

Polish ‘vampire’ burials weren’t just for outsiders – New Scientist

Satire: Investigator To Immediately Offer Job To Sender Of Unsolicited Email – The Allium

Recalculating: The Mind and the Map – Elizabeth Preston – The Atlantic

Science-Based Hacks For Making Your Thanksgiving Meal Perfect – Kevin Loria – BusinessInsider

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