Download the A-Z of NCIMB for International Microorganism Day 2020

The 17th of September is International Microorganism Day – created to raise awareness of the role that microorganisms have in our lives. Microorganisms represent a huge genetic diversity that has the potential to change the way we live for the better – from biofuel production and green chemistry, to new medicines and tasty food and drinks, microorganisms have so much to offer. Though they are not always the first thing that people think of when discussing biodiversity, microbial diversity is absolutely vital for our future and microorganisms could provide the …

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 …

Is your research at risk? Best practice in maintenance, preservation and storage

Best practice in maintenance, preservation and storage should be a central part of any research project that involves the use of microbial cultures that would be difficult to replace, but this is not always the case.  Contamination of cultures and genetic drift can easily occur, especially when strains are being used for long-term programmes of work – it is all too easy to lose track of how many times your strain has been cultured since it was originally isolated. It’s not just contamination and strain drift that can cause issues …

Coronavirus Response Statement

By Carol Phillips, CEO Like everyone else, NCIMB has been closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation with regards to the Coronavirus pandemic and we have been adopting advice from the UK Government, the Scottish Government and the World Health Organisation as and when it has been released.  Protecting our staff, suppliers and stakeholders is our main priority while minimising disruption to essential products and services. We have increased measures at our site, including increased cleaning and limiting non-essential travel and visitors. We are now also working with a reduced staff …

NCIMB makes two new appointments to support continued growth

To support continued growth, Aberdeen-based microbiology, analytical services and biological material storage company NCIMB has appointed Dr Jude Huggan as Business Development Manager, and Dr Carol Devine to the post of Consultant Microbiologist. NCIMB’s microbial cultures and analytical services are used around the globe in research and innovation programmes, and for procedures such as quality control, intellectual property protection, microbial identification, corrosion risk-assessment and environmental monitoring.  Customers include companies in the pharmaceutical, food & drink, oil & gas, agriculture and environmental sectors, as well as academia. Jude, who holds a …

NCIMB launches probiotics and microbial additive testing service

NCIMB has launched a new package of services to support manufacturers of probiotic products and feed additives in assessing the suitability of candidate strains and complying with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) FEEDAP guidelines. FEEDAP is the Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed. Our package includes a range of tests and analyses that provide valuable information about the functional characteristics of strains. Individual packages can be tailored to specific requirements. For example, strains used in probiotic products must survive the acidic gastric environment if they …