The urgent need for microbiology literacy in society

Timmis, Kenneth N.; Cavicchioli, Ricardo; García, José Luis Sánchez; Nogales, Balbina; Chavarría, Max; Stein, Lisa Y.; McGenity, Terry J.; Webster, Nicole S.; Singh, Brajesh K.; Handelsman, Jo; Lorenzo, Vı́ctor de; Pruzzo, Carla; Timmis, James Kenneth; Martín, Juan Luis Ramos; Verstraete, Willy; Jetten, Mijke; Danchin, Antoine; Huang, Wei; Gilbert, Jack A.; Lal, Rup; Santos, Helena; Lee, Sang Yup; Sessitsch, Angela; Bonfante, Paola; Gram, Lone; Lin, Raymond T. P.; Ron, Eliora Z.; Karahan, Zeynep Ceren; Meer, Jan Roelof van der; Artunkal, S; Jahn, Dieter; Harper, Lucy

doi:10.1111/1462-2920.14611

Cited by 125 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

118

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…As a microbiologists' warning, the intent is to raise awareness of the microbial world and make a call to action for microbiologists to become increasingly engaged in and for microbial research to become increasingly integrated into the frameworks for addressing climate change and accomplishing the united Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Box 2). It builds on previous science and policy efforts to call attention to the role of microorganisms in climate change 7,126,[270][271][272] and their broad relevance to society 7 . microbiologists are able to endorse the microbiologists' warning by becoming a signatory.…”

Section: Box 1 | Scientists' Warningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An improved understanding of microbial interactions would help underpin the design of measures to mitigate and control climate change and its effects (see also rEF. 7 ). For example, understanding how mosquitoes respond to the bacterium Wolbachia (a common symbiont of arthropods) has resulted in a reduction of the transmission of Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses through the introduction of Wolbachia into populations of A. aegypti mosquitoes and releasing them into the environment 258 .…”

Section: Microbial Mitigation Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microbial technologies provide practical solutions (chemicals, materials, energy and remediation) for achieving many of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, addressing poverty, hunger, health, clean water, clean energy, economic growth, industry innovation, sustainable cities, responsible consumption, climate action, life below water, and life on land 6 (Box 1). Galvanizing support for such actions will undoubtedly be facilitated by improving public understanding of the key roles of microorganisms in global warming, that is, through attainment of microbiology literacy in society 7 .…”

Section: Microbial Mitigation Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…By contrast, microorganisms are generally not discussed in the context of climate change (particularly the effect of climate change on microorganisms). While invisible to the naked eye and thus somewhat intangible 7 , the abundance (~10 30 total bacteria and archaea) 8 and diversity of microorganisms underlie their role in maintaining a healthy global ecosystem: simply put, the microbial world constitutes the life support system of the biosphere. Although human effects on microorganisms are less obvious and certainly less characterized, a major concern is that changes in microbial biodiversity and activities will affect the resilience of all other organisms and hence their ability to respond to climate change 9 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

| In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting most life on Earth. Microorganisms support the existence of all higher trophic life forms. To understand how humans and other life forms on Earth (including those we are yet to discover) can withstand anthropogenic climate change, it is vital to incorporate knowledge of the microbial 'unseen majority'. We must learn not just how microorganisms affect climate change (including production and consumption of greenhouse gases) but also how they will be affected by climate change and other human activities. This Consensus Statement documents the central role and global importance of microorganisms in climate change biology. It also puts humanity on notice that the impact of climate change will depend heavily on responses of microorganisms, which are essential for achieving an environmentally sustainable future.

show abstract

Section: Box 1 | Scientists' Warningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Microbial Mitigation Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Microbial Mitigation Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…relating to diet, hygiene, vaccination, pet ownership, choice of domestic cleaning products) through to governments and international organizations (e.g. provision of clean water, managing climate change, food security, monitoring and controlling the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance) (Timmis et al , 2019). Microbial products and activities are pivotal to remedying major societal problems (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes

McGenity

Gessesse

Hallsworth

et al. 2020

Microbial Biotechnology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary We have recently argued that, because microbes have pervasive – often vital – influences on our lives, and that therefore their roles must be taken into account in many of the decisions we face, society must become microbiology‐literate, through the introduction of relevant microbiology topics in school curricula (Timmis et al. 2019. Environ Microbiol 21: 1513‐1528). The current coronavirus pandemic is a stark example of why microbiology literacy is such a crucial enabler of informed policy decisions, particularly those involving preparedness of public‐health systems for disease outbreaks and pandemics. However, a significant barrier to attaining widespread appreciation of microbial contributions to our well‐being and that of the planet is the fact that microbes are seldom visible: most people are only peripherally aware of them, except when they fall ill with an infection. And it is disease, rather than all of the positive activities mediated by microbes, that colours public perception of ‘germs’ and endows them with their poor image. It is imperative to render microbes visible, to give them life and form for children (and adults), and to counter prevalent misconceptions, through exposure to imagination‐capturing images of microbes and examples of their beneficial outputs, accompanied by a balanced narrative. This will engender automatic mental associations between everyday information inputs, as well as visual, olfactory and tactile experiences, on the one hand, and the responsible microbes/microbial communities, on the other hand. Such associations, in turn, will promote awareness of microbes and of the many positive and vital consequences of their actions, and facilitate and encourage incorporation of such consequences into relevant decision‐making processes. While teaching microbiology topics in primary and secondary school is key to this objective, a strategic programme to expose children directly and personally to natural and managed microbial processes, and the results of their actions, through carefully planned class excursions to local venues, can be instrumental in bringing microbes to life for children and, collaterally, their families. In order to encourage the embedding of microbiology‐centric class excursions in current curricula, we suggest and illustrate here some possibilities relating to the topics of food (a favourite pre‐occupation of most children), agriculture (together with horticulture and aquaculture), health and medicine, the environment and biotechnology. And, although not all of the microbially relevant infrastructure will be within reach of schools, there is usually access to a market, local food store, wastewater treatment plant, farm, surface water body, etc., all of which can provide opportunities to explore microbiology in action. If children sometimes consider the present to be mundane, even boring, they are usually excited with both the past and the future so, where possible, visits to local museums (the past) and research institutions advancing knowledge frontiers (the...

show abstract

Privacy Risks in Microbiome Research: Public Perspectives before and during a Global Pandemic

Shin

2022

Ethics & Human Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We assessed public perspectives of microbiome research privacy risks before and after a nationwide emergency was declared in the United States regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. From January to July of 2020, we conducted an online survey of perceived privacy risks of microbiome research among U.S. adults. Among 3,106 participants (the preemergency group), most expressed that the microbiome posed privacy risks similar to those associated with DNA (60.3%) or medical records (50.6%) and that they would prefer detailed explanations (70.2%) of risk in consent materials. Only 8.9% reported moderate to high familiarity with microbiome privacy risks. In adjusted analyses, individuals who participated in the study after the Covid-19 emergency was declared (the Covid-19 emergency group) were less likely to express that microbiome privacy risks were similar to those of DNA or medical records and more likely to report familiarity with the privacy risks of microbiomes. There was a trend toward increased concern after the Covid-19 emergency was declared (p = 0.053). Overall, the study revealed that many U.S. adults believe that microbiome privacy risks are similar to those associated with DNA or medical records, and they prefer detailed explanations in consent documents. Individuals who participated after the Covid-19 emergency was declared reported greater knowledge of microbiome privacy risks but had more concern. KEYWORDS human subjects research, human research ethics, privacy, research data privacy, microbiome research, microbial genetics, Covid-19

show abstract

The urgent need for microbiology literacy in society

Cited by 125 publications

References 46 publications

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes

Privacy Risks in Microbiome Research: Public Perspectives before and during a Global Pandemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About