A review on the risks of antibiotics early in life, undergrad in our lab wins award, and microbiome research needs scepticism.

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Trends and determinants of gastric bacterial colonization of preterm neonates in a NICU setting – Ketki Patel – PLOS ONE

Review: Risks of Antibiotic Exposures Early in Life on the Developing Microbiome – Anjelique Schulfer and Martin J Blaser – PLOS Pathogens

Human skin microbiome

Temporal changes in the skin Malassezia microbiota of members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE): A case study in Antarctica as a pseudo-space environment – Takashi Sugita – Medical Mycology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Clostridium difficile Infection – Daniel A. Leffler – The New England Journal of Medicine

Spotlight: The gut microbiome in the helminth infected host – Francisca Mutapi – Trends in Parasitology

Animal microbiome

Editorial? (no full access this one yet) The giant panda gut microbiome – Fuwen Wei – Trends in Microbiology

Should Symbionts Be Nice or Selfish? Antiviral Effects of Wolbachia Are Costly but Reproductive Parasitism Is Not – Julien Martinez – PLOS Pathogens

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Exploring soil microbial 16S rRNA sequence data to increase carbon yield and nitrogen efficiency of a bioenergy crop – Leonardo M. Pitombo – GCB Bioenergy

Microbes in the news

Congrats to “our” undergraduate student Laurie Rumker for winning a Firestone Medal for her thesis “Before and After the Flood: Stability and Resilience of the Human Gut Microbiota”.

Microbiology: Microbiome science needs a healthy dose of scepticism – William P. Hanage – Nature

Tools for Drools: A general guide to collecting and processing saliva – Kelly Rae Chi – The Scientist

Single-Celled Creature Has Eye Made of Domesticated Microbes – Ed Yong – National Geographic

Must read for everyone who thinks IRBs are a pain: Blood & Fog: The Military’s Germ Warfare Tests in San Francisco – Rebecca Kreston – Discover

How the Black Death turned from a tummy bug to a deadly plague – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

BacteriaHysteria (posting here does not mean endorsement)

“Just take your shoes off at the door and stop wearing them inside your home! If you have pets, clean off their paws with some disposable wipes before letting them traipse all over the place as well. Your immune system will thank you.”
A Serious (and Gross) Reason to Take Your Shoes Off Inside Your Home – Susan Yara – Glamour

Bik’s Picks

Reaction to Smells May Help Diagnose Autism, Study Suggests – Sindya N. Bhanoo – New York Times

Eye color: A potential indicator of alcohol dependence risk in European Americans – Arvis Sulovari – American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics

Why the seahorse tail is square – Michael M. Porter – Science

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