Reader (Associate Professor) in Microbiology at the University of Warwick, UK. Biofilm, chronic infection and ancientbiotics. https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingBiofilmhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mumq6mubbk2aIt's taken 12 years and a lot of work from many fantastic people, but we have published an analysis of how our reconstruction of Bald's eyesalve kills bacteria. This was driven by @tosinorababa.bsky.social & Jess Furner-Pardoe through their PhD work #MicroSky https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00494-26 [1/n]03 Sep 2026 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumq6mubbk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mujqty5gwc2j@rachelmwheatley.bsky.social and I really enjoyed putting together a special issue of Essays in Biochemistry on the social lives of bacteria. All the papers are now out, and here's our editorial :D @biochemsoc.bsky.social #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/70/3/295/237994/A-special-issue-of-Essays-in-Biochemistry-on-the02 Sep 2026 10:43 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mujqty5gwc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3muhabgzclk23The use of Galleria mellonella to study microbial interactions, immune responses, & substrate interactions - super, comprehensive review from Evgenia Maslova, Ciaram Staber & @ronanmccarthy.bsky.social https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250030/237991/The-use-of-Galleria-mellonella-to-study-microbial #MicroSky01 Sep 2026 10:41 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhabgzclk23https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3muha4apsis23The social lives of bacteria as revealed through CLASI-FISH - thank you @jmarkwelch.bsky.social for this lovely review, covering the structure of bacterial communities in the human mouth, mouse gut and associated with kelp https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250042/237936/Social-lives-of-bacteria-as-revealed-through-CLASI #MicroSky01 Sep 2026 10:38 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3muha4apsis23https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mucfwpyvek2nGreat piece from Marvin Whiteley. But it can be impossible or near-impossible to access the samples needed to benchmark models properly. I spent over a decade trying and failing to source resected CF lung, and we’re in year five of trying to access another sample type for one of our projects. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Aug 2026 12:39 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mucfwpyvek2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mucfiuek622nThe ten artists I’ve enjoyed seeing live the most, in no particular order and from various phases of life: Blind Guardian VNV Nation Rachel Stamp Apocalyptica AntiProduct Public Service Broadcasting Sisters of Mercy Manic Street Preachers Epica Pulp [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Aug 2026 12:31 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mucfiuek622nhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mtqjtioc622nThe possibility that accidental or unofficial releases of big cats led to self-sustaining populations in the UK countryside has been contentious. @warwicklifesci.bsky.social’s Robin Allaby is one of the people who’s been assessing the evidence, using DNA: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/big-cats-in-the-british-countryside https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/big-cats-in-the-british-countryside?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6a8a29fe97c56c000111f0b3&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAT3oqBwZG9mAWZkaWQWUNA-c7PODOLywMMioey_oupK4BU79WV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzE3Mzg0NzY0MjY3MDM3MAABHjBkFk8zJNVMWnhDeq5qhYU_MxgKD0kJWvTZs_otHTUjrMsKpxth3cvbmW_X_aem_XE8C1HdRajYlWt67y6W9ZQ23 Aug 2026 10:01 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtqjtioc622nhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mt4i4lpcrk24Whatever Arday and his employers did or didn’t do, the person pushing the story is an open white supremacist (full video available in the linked thread). [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Aug 2026 10:37 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4i4lpcrk24https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msy7ykm7jk26Looking forward to reading this! #MicroSky [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Aug 2026 18:01 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msy7ykm7jk26https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msy2cpjmbc26We have some impressive undergrad students at @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social @warwicklifesci.bsky.social 💜 Access, equity, and ambition: rethinking early careers in the life sciences https://portlandpress.com/biochemist/article/48/3/23/237785/Access-equity-and-ambition-rethinking-early13 Aug 2026 16:19 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msy2cpjmbc26https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msvgupt5f22nPreprint from @tosinorababa.bsky.social and a crack team he assembled to explore the mechanism of action of tEDTA against P. aeruginosa #MicroSky [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Aug 2026 15:26 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvgupt5f22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msuxb4y34c23Exploring the gaps & opportunities for development of an #AMR #AntiobioticResistance educational package for higher education: super to see this preprint from the AMRED group, including my PhD student @c-cornbill.bsky.social #MicroSky https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.0.001304.v112 Aug 2026 10:46 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msuxb4y34c23https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mssba32lms2vHow do social interactions in plant microbiomes shape host health? What would a rationally-designed growth-promoting consortium look like? Thanks @carmen-escudero.bsky.social, Andrzej Tkacz, Marta Albareda & Carmen Sánchez-Cañizares for this review #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250038/237875/It-takes-a-village-how-plant-associated-bacterial11 Aug 2026 09:07 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mssba32lms2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mssb5y35rs2vIt’s not just B-DNA in #biofilm matrices - imaging approaches reveal diverse non-canonical DNA structures, and extracellular RNAs too. Thanks Gabriel Minero, Freja Sillesen & Rikke Meyer for contributing this review to Essays in Biochemistry #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250031/237874/Imaging-nucleic-acids-in-biofilms11 Aug 2026 09:06 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mssb5y35rs2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mssb5jcfu22vHow do phages maintain or increase the diversity of plant-associated microbiomes? Thanks Renée Smith & @dholtappels.bsky.social for contributing this review to Essays in Biochem #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250035/237617/The-role-of-phages-in-plant-associated-microbial 11 Aug 2026 09:05 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mssb5jcfu22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mssb2gksgk2vInvasive plasmids as ecosystem engineers: how can we understand & harness conjugative plasmids as agents of microbiome functionality? Thanks Solomon Garland, @vickiorr.bsky.social @jpjhall.bsky.social @ellieevolves.bsky.social for this review #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250040/237688/Invasive-plasmids-as-ecosystem-engineers-from11 Aug 2026 09:04 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mssb2gksgk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3mss6hh54a22mOne of the best summaries I’ve seen of the whole sorry Arday situation. From Reddit.11 Aug 2026 08:17 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3mss6hh54a22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msqtwvlow22vI tagged the wrong Hall… this is by @hallfungalresearch.bsky.social & @katherine-baxter.bsky.social #MicroSky [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Aug 2026 19:36 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqtwvlow22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msqfhfcpzs25How much do we currently know about the influence of bacterial-fungal interactions: on community function in environmental, health & industrial contexts? Thanks @halllab.bsky.social & @katherine-baxter.bsky.social for this review for Essays in Biochem! #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250037/237715/Bacterial-fungal-interactions-connections-and10 Aug 2026 15:17 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqfhfcpzs25https://bsky.app/profile/friendlymicrobe.bsky.social/post/3msqey6ro3225What do microbes actually use antimicrobial peptides for? How do they impact microbial communities? Thanks @lindaoyama.bsky.social for contributing this review to a special issue of Essays in Biochemistry on the social lives of bacteria #MicroSky https://portlandpress.com/essaysbiochem/article/doi/10.1042/EBC20250036/237846/From-sequence-space-to-ecological-function10 Aug 2026 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:pgoy72te6bzh3psrdra3q7ya/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqey6ro3225