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Esperanza Martínez-Romero is a professor of ecological genomics and was coordinator of the undergraduate programme on genomics at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Her work on plant symbioses, and outreach with local farmers has encouraged uptake of sustainable practices and the use of biofertilizers.
Margaret McFall-Ngai is the inaugural director of a new division in biosphere sciences at the Carnegie Institution for Science. She has explored the impact of evolving in a microbial world on the biology of animals and plants through a set of adventures that began with a lecture by Carl Woese early in her graduate career.
Understanding the interplay between the microbiome and menopause holds promise for new interventions to alleviate menopausal symptoms and improve quality of life for women.
Space exploration carries with it risks of biological contamination. Here, the planetary protection efforts currently in place to control microbial contamination during space exploration are discussed, including plans related to sample and crew returns to Earth from other Solar System destinations such as Mars.
One of the most powerful yet little-recognized benefits of visualization is the way it synthesizes our knowledge and externalizes our mental models of the science.
Scientific illustrations help to communicate complex information and data across disciplines. The work of science animators and illustrators is therefore a valuable part of effective science communication, in particular for microbiology, as the majority of organisms studied cannot be seen with the naked eye.
