Editors in Conversation

In this episode, a fascinating new bacteriophage, JS1. While most contractile phages (which inject DNA like a spring-loaded syringe) are rigid and straight, JS1 sports a curved, flexible tail that may help it navigate the complex "canyons and valleys" of the bacterial cell wall.
Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/eDGta8xc4_0
Guests:
Sabrina Suhani, Ph.D., Graduate Student, Monash University, Australia
Trevor Lithgow, Ph.D., Professor, Monash University's Biomedical Discovery Institute.
Links: 
Staphylococcus species infected by a bacteriophage with a tail that is both curved and contractile
This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by mBio® and hosted by mBio Editor in Chief, Marvin Whiteley, Ph.D. 

Visit journals.asm.org/journal/mbio to read articles and/or submit a manuscript.

Receive up to 50% off fees when you publish in mBio® or any of the ASM journals by becoming an ASM member. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.

Is the future of cervical cancer screening non-invasive? Sharmila Manjeshwar, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Klausner M.D. MPH, discuss a breakthrough in HPV diagnostics: urine-based testing. While vaccination and clinical screening have reduced cervical cancer rates, participation has stalled due to barriers like healthcare access and the invasive nature of traditional clinician-collected samples. This conversation explores how novel high-volume urine concentration technology is changing the landscape, making screening more accessible, private, and efficient.
Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/am7NvL1Y0g4
Guests:
Sharmila Manjeshwar, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Klausner M.D. MPH
Links: 
Performance of a novel, urine-based test for the detection of cervical human papillomavirus infection
This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM) and Elitza (Elli) Theel, Ph.D., D(ABMM). 

Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript.

Become an ASM member to receive up to 50% off publishing fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.

Most microbiome research focuses on soil, oceans, or hosts. But the atmosphere itself harbors diverse communities of bacteria and fungi that move between ecosystems. This episode explores a recent mBio study comparing airborne microbial communities above a subalpine forest and a grassland in Colorado.

The conversation unpacks what the "aerobiome" is, how scientists actually sample microbes from the air, and why height, time of day, and season matter. The study reveals striking differences between fungi and bacteria, with fungi showing strong site-specific structure and environmental sensitivity, while bacteria appear more ubiquitous. They also discuss "vertical filtering," long-distance dispersal, and what these findings mean for pathogen spread, ecosystem connectivity, and climate change.

The atmosphere is not empty space, it is an active conduit connecting microbial life across landscapes.
Guests:
Carolyn R. Cornell, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural BiologyColorado State University
Jane E. Stewart, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural BiologyColorado State University
Links: 
Spatiotemporal patterns of airborne microbial communities in forest and grassland ecosystems.
This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by mBio® and hosted by mBio Editor in Chief, Marvin Whiteley, Ph.D. 
This episode is brought to you by the mBio journal available at https://asm.org/mBio. 
If you plan to publish in mBio, ASM Members get up to 50% off publishing fees. Visit https://asm.org/joinasm to sign up.
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Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (or MALDI) has revolutionized the clinical microbiology laboratory, enabling rapid, accurate and cheap identification of bacteria, yeast, moulds and mycobacteria. In most labs, it has become a verb (I maldi'ed it). But – can it replace our antimicrobial susceptibility tests? Let's find out!
Guests:
Dr. Frieder Schaumburg
Niklas Wiesmann

In the inaugural episode of Editors in Conversation mBio edition, Marvin Whiteley speaks with Arturo Casadevall, infectious-disease physician-scientist, founding Editor in Chief of mBio, and a leading voice in fungal pathogenesis and scientific rigor.

They explore how climate change may be reshaping the fungal kingdom, potentially eroding the thermal barrier that has historically protected humans from most fungal pathogens. Using Candida auris (C auris) as a case study, they discuss heat adaptation, antifungal resistance, and what climate change could mean for future outbreaks.

The conversation also examines fungal pandemics in pop culture, the challenges of antifungal drug development, and the promise of vaccines and biotechnology. Fungi are both threat and ally in a changing world, and understanding them has never been more urgent.
Guest:
Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D. - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Infectious-disease physician-scientist, Founding Editor in Chief of mBio®
Links: 
On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds 
Reflections on my 15 years as mBio editor in chief
This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by mBio® and hosted by mBio Editor in Chief, Marvin Whiteley, Ph.D. 

Visit journals.asm.org/journal/mbio to read articles and/or submit a manuscript.

Receive up to 50% off fees when you publish in mBio® or any of the ASM journals by becoming an ASM member. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.