Human skin microbiome

Malassezia species and their associated skin diseases – Kazutoshi Harada – The Journal of Dermatology

Animal and other models for microbiome research

Plant identity drives the expression of biocontrol factors in a rhizosphere bacterium across a plant diversity gradient – Ellen Latz – Functional Ecology

Soil and sediment microbiome

Hydrogen export from intertidal cyanobacterial mats: sources, fluxes and the influence of community composition – Dörte Hoffmann – Environmental Microbiology

Discovery and microbial content of the driest site of the hyperarid Atacama Desert, Chile – Armando Azua-Bustos – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Community composition and population genetics of insect pathogenic fungi in the genus Metarhizium from soils of a long-term agricultural research system – Ryan M. Kepler – Environmental Microbiology

Characterization of wheat straw-degrading anaerobic alkali-tolerant mixed cultures from soda lake sediments by molecular and cultivation techniques – Katharina Porsch – Microbial Biotechnology

Microbes of the built environment

Modeling environmental contamination in hospital single- and four-bed rooms – M-F. King – Indoor Air

Metabolomics

Letter: volatile metabolomics of exhaled breath or faecal gas? – E. F. J. de Groot – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Microbes in the news

Gut Reaction: Study implicates bacteria in maternal stress and infant illnesses – Josie Glausiusz – The American Scholar

Scientists study the microbiome – the bacteria, viruses and fungi – living in an Alabama high school – Lee Roop – AL.com

Infant Gut Bacteria Linked To Later Food Sensitization – Interview with Anita Kozyrskyj – Medical Research

Podcast: SciCafe: Mapping the Urban Microbiome, Genome, Metagenome – American Museum of Natural History

Satire (but probably true): U.S. Children Getting Majority Of Antibiotics From McDonald’s Meat – The Onion

Science, publishing, and career

Movie science vs real life – People in White Coats

The Juggling Scientist: Tips for not Letting Things Fall – Black Science Blog

Developing world: The minority minority – Katia Moskvitch – Nature

Study: At ‘Rate My Professor,’ A Foreign Accent Can Hurt A Teacher’s Score – Kat Chow – NPR

Making Scientific Blogging “Count” – Joshua Nicholson – The Winnower

Bik’s Picks

Video reveals the incredible acrobatic feats (and occasional face plants) of a pouncing praying mantis – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

After Menopause, Female Killer Whales Help Pod Survive – Jane J. Lee – National Geographic

170-Year-Old Shipwreck Beer Smells Gross – Megan Gannon – Live Science

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