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Despite regular claims to the contrary, our peer review systems are not fundamentally broken, but they do suffer from stresses and strains that require journals to undertake ongoing maintenance, by trialling and adopting new practices while ensuring continued rigor.
Increasing research on microbial communities has resulted in massive amounts of data being generated and shared, yet data accessibility, accuracy and thoroughness remain problematic and can be a substantial obstacle for scientists looking to explore existing datasets.
An increased focus on identifying disease hotspots and pre-emptive intervention will be key to halting outbreaks before they become established, but political and economic obstacles cannot be ignored if ambitious new targets to reduce global cholera mortality tenfold are to be achieved.
Translating scientific discoveries into real world solutions is a goal shared by researchers, governments, industry and the public alike. While continued support for basic research is critical, improvements in the funding, evaluation and publication of translational work are also needed to fully realize the promise of applied research.
The recommendation that antibiotic courses are always completed should be dropped according to a recent analysis. While a welcome addition to discussion on the role of stewardship in tackling resistance, caution should be applied before advice on prescription practices and communication with patients is altered.
Fungal pathogens are virtually ignored by the press, the public and funding bodies, despite posing a significant threat to public health, food biosecurity and biodiversity.
The WHO's plans to bolster global vector control measures blend audacious goals with a sensible approach that could save lives and stimulate economic growth and development in many of the world's poorest nations.
From roles in the health, nutrition and performance of humans during spaceflight, through to the question of life on other worlds, microbiology has fundamental contributions to make to our exploration of the cosmos.
If we are to be successful in keeping priority pathogens at bay in the long term, global responses to antimicrobial resistance should embrace and fund innovative therapeutic strategies that are developed in the basic microbiology laboratory.
As anti-vaccination movements gain momentum in some regions, World Immunization Week 2017 reminds us that vaccines work and are safe, and that ideological positions contrary to this truth ignore the weight of scientific evidence and deny a long history of lives being saved, endangering many more.
While deaths from leading infectious diseases have decreased since the millennium, the threat from potential new outbreaks means that complacency is not an option. The global health community is grossly underprepared to meet new epidemic challenges, but signs suggest that improvement is underway.
Encouraging researchers to become activists and engage with the public to combat the rising tide of scientific mistrust is easier said than done. Harder still will be to better enable PhDs to thrive in careers away from science, in the public and private sectors, but doing so could bear substantial fruit in the long-term.
