New Frontiers

Overview: Microbiology is an incredibly exciting, fast-moving subject, always in the news, always contributing new ways of improving our wellbeing and that of the planet and, occasionally, contributing to a crisis, like COVID-19. One reason for this excitement is the exceptional breadth of applications and potential applications microbes offer, which means that, as one type of application matures, a new one emerges. For this reason, while it is important to give you a flavour of the current New Frontiers of microbiology, choosing is difficult because there are many, and the field is highly dynamic, so new New Frontiers emerge constantly. The topics selected here – Human microbiomes, Astrobiology, and Electro-microbiology – are all super exciting and super important right now; but tomorrow, there will be new stars on the block. So consider these topics to be just a snapshot of some current discovery-rich themes of the wonderful tapestry of evolving exciting topics microbiology has to offer. Let’s share the excitement of the New Frontiers!