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Microbe Talk

Microbe Talk

Microbiology Society

Microbe Talk is a podcast from the Microbiology Society, interviewing researchers about bacteria, viruses and parasites. We are the largest microbiology society in Europe, covering all aspects of microbial science.
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Top 10 Microbe Talk Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Microbe Talk episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Microbe Talk for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Microbe Talk episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Microbe Talk - Forensic Microbiology Part 1: Microbes of Death
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07/23/15 • 19 min

This month’s episode of Microbe Talk is something a bit different – the first in a two-part special on forensic microbiology.

In part one, we’re exploring the microbes of death and decay – and how they can be used by forensic scientists to work out when and how someone has died.

We spoke to writer Mo Costandi about his recent experiences visiting body farms in Texas, where scientists study the process of decomposition. Mo wrote an article for the Wellcome Trust’s Mosaic on the subject (which is well worth reading), so we asked him to the Society’s offices to find out more about what happens to our bodies after we die.

We also hear from forensic scientist Dr Gulnaz Javan, who is conducting research into the “thanatomicrobiome”, or microbes of death, at one of these facilities. Gulnaz and her team take samples from cadavers and the surrounding soil in order to study the microbial communities present at different stages of decomposition. She talked to us about a recent paper from her group that discusses their early findings.

This episode contains descriptions of decomposing human corpses.

Image credit: Mo Costandi

Music: Chris Zabriskie under CC BY 4.0

Sound effects: “BunchOfFlies” by HerbertBoland under CC BY 3.0, “Countryside in Texas, insects and birds” by felix.blume under CC0 1.0
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Private Ernest Cable was a WW1 soldier who died on 13 March 1915 and his body now lies in a communal cemetery in Wimereux, France.


Records suggest that Cable was the first British soldier in WW1 to die from dysentery - an intestinal diarrhoeal infection, caused by Shigella flexneri bacteria. Today, a sample of the very Shigella which infected and killed Cable can be found at the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC), where it is helping researchers to understand the evolution of drug resistance.


The NCTC is part of Public Health England's Culture Collections, which includes thousands of strains of bacteria, viruses and fungi. We spoke to Julie Russell, Head of Culture Collections, about some of the more unusual historical strains housed there, and the role that they continue to play in the fight against disease.


 


Image: Wimereux Communal Cemetery


Image credit: Wernervc on Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0

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Microbe Talk - West Nile Fever

West Nile Fever

Microbe Talk

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08/17/18 • 10 min

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Microbe Talk - Crowdfunding research
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02/19/14 • 24 min

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Microbe Talk - Glacial bacteria and climate change
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10/01/13 • 22 min

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Microbe Talk - Microbe Talk Extra: Thorunn Helgason
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10/10/13 • 4 min

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Microbe Talk - The European Congress of Virology
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11/11/13 • 20 min

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Microbe Talk - Searching for plague bodies and Spaaaaace
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12/04/13 • 29 min

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Microbe Talk - Microbe Talk Extra: Something in the water
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09/03/15 • 7 min

Where do antibiotics end up after we've used them? The answer is almost everywhere – in our soils and crops, in our rivers and in our drinking water.
Is this something we should be concerned about? And is it driving the evolution of resistance?
In this Microbe Talk Extra, we spoke to Dr Will Gaze from the University of Exeter Medical School about antimicrobial resistance in the environment, and his lab's research on water treatment plants, coastal waters, and surfers' bums.
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FAQ

How many episodes does Microbe Talk have?

Microbe Talk currently has 166 episodes available.

What topics does Microbe Talk cover?

The podcast is about Microbiology, Natural Sciences, Podcasts and Science.

What is the most popular episode on Microbe Talk?

The episode title 'Microbiology Today: Arboviruses and their Vectors' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Microbe Talk?

The average episode length on Microbe Talk is 19 minutes.

How often are episodes of Microbe Talk released?

Episodes of Microbe Talk are typically released every 22 days, 17 hours.

When was the first episode of Microbe Talk?

The first episode of Microbe Talk was released on Feb 27, 2012.

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