Celebrating 70 years

Seventy years ago today, on the 1st of July 1950, the creation of a National Collection of Industrial Bacteria was announced in Nature. The collection took over the non-pathogenic cultures held by the National Collection of Type Cultures, and was reported to house some 350 types. The number was expected to increase considerably as the collection became more representative of the needs of industry. This collection went on to merge with the National Collections of Marine, and then Food Bacteria to create the collection that NCIMB curates today. We now …

NCIMB sponsorship at IBioIC’s 5th annual conference

NCIMB is delighted to be one of the sponsors of the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre’s 5th annual conference. This year’s event, titled ‘Industrial Biotechnology for a Sustainable Future’, will be held at the Technology Innovation Centre, in Glasgow, 30 – 31 January 2019. The IBioIC annual conference brings together academia, bio-based professionals and supporting organisations under one roof, to learn more about and explore the potential opportunities for industrial biotechnology in Scotland, as well as the global landscape of the industry. The event is building a reputation as one of …

Culture collections: an international genetic resource for the 21st century – and beyond

by Samantha Law International Microorganism Day International Microorganism Day aims not only to promote microbiology as a field of professional activities, but also to raise awareness of the essential role that microorganisms play in our health, environment and quality of life.  Although it is over 300 years since Robert Hooke and Antoni van Leeuenhoek first observed and described microorganisms, we are really just beginning to understand their contribution to our lives and unlock their potential. Bacteria represent a rich and industrially valuable source of genetic biodiversity, but when a new …

Successful transition to ISO 9001 2015

We are pleased to announce that NCIMB has successfully achieved the transition from ISO 9001:2008 to the newly revised ISO 9001:2015 standard.  ISO 9001:2015 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, and continual improvement. Our commitment to high quality standards is central to our operation and is an essential requirement for many of our customers. We are therefore delighted to be able to report that the transition to the revised standard went without a …

We are recruiting! Laboratory analyst post

NCIMB, an expanding microbiological and chemical analytical company, has a vacancy for a Laboratory Analyst to join their busy analytical department.  This role is a full time and permanent position. Candidates should have good communication skills, be self-motivated with excellent attention to detail and be able to work with minimum supervision.  Duties include: • The undertaking of chemical analyses in order to meet deadlines. • Liaising with customers and producing reports. • Organizing and managing the routine maintenance of equipment. • Ordering consumables, maintaining inventories and stock. • Meeting the …

New reference strains available from NCIMB

Three new strains are now available from the National Collection of Industrial Food and Marine Bacteria – one hydrocarbon degrading Halomonas species and two strains of Salinisphaera. The Halomonas species, NCIMB 15113, was deposited by researchers from the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology at the University of Oklahoma. It was isolated from a produced water storage tank in Barnett Shale, North Texas USA, and has the ability to degrade a variety of straight-chain alkanes. The two Salinisphaera strains, NCIMB 15097 Salinisphaera ulaidhensis and NCIMB 15098 Salinisphaera belfastensis, were both isolated from brine taken from the Kilroot salt mine in Northern …