A sustainable future with microbes at its core

Celebrating International Microorganism Day Blog post by Connor Trotter, EASTBIO DTP PIPS intern I’ve just started a 3-month placement at NCIMB Ltd – home to the UK’s National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria. With such an amazing microbial resource at my fingertips, to celebrate International Microorganism Day, I decided to delve into the culture collection, pick out a few interesting strains, and highlight some of the important applications that microorganisms have. Microorganisms are Earth’s smallest, and most ancient lifeforms. Found across all major domains of the modern Tree …

Identification Methods for Bacteria and Fungi

Vikki Warren, Identification Services Manager The revised Annex 1 came into force on 25 August 2023. These guidelines apply to sterile medicinal product manufacture, and aim to ensure that microbial, particulate and endotoxin/pyrogen contamination is prevented in the final product. This is obviously an essential goal when it comes to sterile medicinal products, so the application of the guidelines to create an effective contamination control strategy is of paramount importance. With respect to the identification of microorganisms as part of the environmental monitoring programme, Annex 1 states that microorganisms detected in …

Harnessing NCIMB’s microbial collection – applications for personal care

Dr Jude Huggan, Business Development Manager, NCIMB As society transitions away from fossil fuels, it’s not only our energy sources that need to be replaced with sustainable alternatives – we also need to find alternatives to a host of fossil-fuel derived ingredients found in products that most people use every day. The personal care sector has an advantage over some other chemical-using industries in this transition. Positive perception and reputation are essential to the commercial success of personal care products, and consumers are increasingly demanding products that align with their …

Celebrating World Microbiome Day 2023: Microbes and Food

Julie MacKinnon, Microbiome Services Manager We always like to mark world microbiome day here at NCIMB, and this year the theme is “Microbes and Food”. It’s an important topic and one that NCIMB has been involved in for decades, through the culture collection that we maintain, the services we provide and the research and development products that have been involved in. Microbes and food are interwoven in so many ways its difficult to know where to start – from the soil in which crops are grown, to fermented foods, the …

BioNow Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference

NCIMB’s Business Development Manager Dr Jude Huggan reflects on the 2023 event Last week I had the pleasure of attending the BioNow Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference in Darlington and what a great event it was!  It was brilliant to see such a great mix of speakers, exhibitors and delegates, showcasing the world-class biomanufacturing facilities and pharmaceutical companies that are located in the Northeast of England.  I arrived in time to grab a coffee to chat to the exhibitors – some I’d met before, others I was meeting for the first time. …

Madonna, Mass Consumption and Microbes

by Edward Green, CEO, NCIMB At NCIMB, we believe microbes can provide sustainable solutions to the big issues of our time. With NCIMB gearing up to attend and present at the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association event in May, ‘The power of microbes and the development of the circular bioeconomy’, I asked myself, are we on the brink of a fifth revolution, the ultimate BioRevolution, and how can NCIMB’s diverse microbial biorepository help towards reversing climate change and other societal challenges including disease outbreaks, food shortages, fuel poverty, loss of …