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Alan W. Walker

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H-index: 57
Biology 50%
Public Health 11%
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

kaletalab.bsky.social
Excellent article on quantitative production of fermentation products by the microbiota. Key takeaway: microbial fermentation products may be more important in mice than humans, amplifying microbiome effects in mice. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Quantifying the varying harvest of fermentation products from the human gut microbiota
Fermentation products are the most abundant gut microbial metabolites absorbed by the host, with important dose-dependent consequences for health. In this study, we present a systems-level analysis in...
www.cell.com
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker, Andrew Millard

bugsinyourguts.bsky.social
If you are UK-based and working on any aspect of microbiomes (human, plant, insect, soil, animal, ...), please do sign up to Microbiome-Net for details of networking, funding and training opportunities.

forms.office.com/pages/respon...
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker, Simon Roux

gibbological.bsky.social
The landscape of microbial associations in human cancer www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

TLDR -- most cancers do not have microbiomes...but a few do have consistent microbe associations (i.e., colorectal and oral cancers). Make sense!
The landscape of microbial associations in human cancer
Differences between cancer types, infectious disease, and potential prognostic markers are uncovered by studying microbes within cancer DNA.
www.science.org
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by Noah Fierer — Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

noahfierer.bsky.social
Hope this is useful - consensus statement "Guidelines for preventing and reporting contamination in low-biomass microbiome studies" rdcu.be/er3Io
Guidelines for preventing and reporting contamination in low-biomass microbiome studies
Nature Microbiology - In this Consensus Statement, the authors outline strategies for processing, analysing and interpreting low-biomass microbiome samples, and provide recommendations to minimize...
rdcu.be
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Been a hell of a weekend 😍
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
A miracle I survived 😂
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Named after 2014 to 2021 Aberdeen FC journeyman Ash Taylor, presumably? A niche choice 👍
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
BOOOOOO!
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Yeah, it's a bit Elon Musk-y too.
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Only Alan and I understand this 😄
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Call your cat "Rambo", in honour of @alanmcn1.bsky.social
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
He's an Aberdeen legend, his pre-retirement wind down at Man Utd is irrelevant.
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Fergie 😜
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
As mullets and moustaches have proven, even ridiculous abominations can come back in trend again 😄
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
It is an asset sometimes though 😜
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker, William G. Wade

natmicrobiol.nature.com
EDITORIAL: Ensuring rigour of low-biomass microbiome research

Read it here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#microsky #microbiomesky 🧪
Ensuring rigour of low-biomass microbiome research - Nature Microbiology
Determining whether human organs house a resident microbiome is challenging and the findings can be controversial. However, forging collaborations and careful study design can help overcome these issu...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

onisillos.bsky.social
Our latest editorial is now online, in advance of our February issue that will be available next week.

Brain microbiome: is it all in our heads?

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Brain microbiome: is it all in our heads?
In their September 2018 Editorial, The Lancet Infectious Diseases discussed the over-reaching inferences leading to suggestions of a placental microbiome, and touched on how the same extrapolations we...
www.thelancet.com
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
If this could be circulated to all of my recent grant funding panels, that would be great 😄
laurenradlinski.bsky.social
Lauren Radlinski @laurenradlinski.bsky.social · Jan 23
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists- A new commentary authored by myself and @abaumler.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists - Nature Microbiology
Microbiome science is a multi-disciplinary field, but classical microbiologists are needed to ensure advances are grounded in our understanding of basic microbiological concepts.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker, Andreas J. Bäumler

laurenradlinski.bsky.social
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists- A new commentary authored by myself and @abaumler.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists - Nature Microbiology
Microbiome science is a multi-disciplinary field, but classical microbiologists are needed to ensure advances are grounded in our understanding of basic microbiological concepts.
www.nature.com
3 33 61

Reposted by: Alan W. Walker, Julian Parkhill

josiebryant.bsky.social
Frustrating - I reviewed a paper that was highly problematic, mainly in scientific rigour undermining most of the conclusions, so I recommend Reject. However the editor decides to Revise presumably due to the more positive comments from reviewer 2... /1
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

sheppardlab.bsky.social
Interested in being and editor for the journal 'Microbial Genomics' @MicrobioSoc :
microbiologysociety.org/news/society...?
<i>Microbial Genomics</i> Editor and Editors: call for expressions of interest
microbiologysociety.org
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

leibniz-dsmz.bsky.social
To honour Abigail A. Salyers (1942-2013), who is considered as the mother of microbiome research, DSMZ researchers named the strain Streptomyces salyersiae (DSM 41770) after her.

#WomenInScience #antibiotics #antibioticresistance #microbiome #microbiology
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Just a thought, but perhaps it's because these butyrate producers consume acetate for growth?

A certain degree of innate acid tolerance is therefore required?
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
In case it's of interest, we did do some work with cultures nearly two decades ago:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16000778/

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19397676/

Bacteroides appear not to grow as well at pH 5.5 compared to butyrate producing Firmicutes.
pH and peptide supply can radically alter bacterial populations and short-chain fatty acid ratios within microbial communities from the human colon - PubMed
The effects of changes in the gut environment upon the human colonic microbiota are poorly understood. The response of human fecal microbial communities from two donors to alterations in pH (5.5 or 6....
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

marakat.bsky.social
last couple days to apply (for free! from anywhere in the world!) to the Sanger 2025 PhD Programme — Deadline: 28th November 2024 (09:00 GMT)

For more info, visit www.sanger.ac.uk/about/study/...
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

borklab.bsky.social
Hot off the press: "Fecal microbial load is a major determinant of gut microbiome variation and a confounder for disease associations" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

See below for @suguru-nishijima.bsky.social 's thread on the preprint!

#microsky #microbiome
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by Alan W. Walker

faecalmatters.bsky.social
Paperboy, turnstile operator, shelf stacker, pipe grinder, pet shop boy, rose breeder, field hand, warehouse dispatcher, and medical laboratory scientific officer (trainee). And I gave it all up for a life of studying poop. It's a strange universe.
ppgardne.bsky.social
Paul Gardner @ppgardne.bsky.social · Nov 12
Introduce yourself with some jobs you have done apart from what you do now:

- Farm hand (fencing, thistle cutting, scrub cutting, mustering)
- Forestry work (pruning, donkey)
- Crutching
tessneal.bsky.social
Tess Neal @tessneal.bsky.social · Nov 12
Introduce yourself with some jobs you have done apart from what you do now:

- Mental health tech at a forensic hospital
- Detox center intake worker
- Waitress for many years
- Shoe sales
- Office support (filing)
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

ppgardne.bsky.social
Introduce yourself with some jobs you have done apart from what you do now:

- Farm hand (fencing, thistle cutting, scrub cutting, mustering)
- Forestry work (pruning, donkey)
- Crutching
tessneal.bsky.social
Tess Neal @tessneal.bsky.social · Nov 12
Introduce yourself with some jobs you have done apart from what you do now:

- Mental health tech at a forensic hospital
- Detox center intake worker
- Waitress for many years
- Shoe sales
- Office support (filing)
bootlegpotato.bsky.social
BootlegPotato @bootlegpotato.bsky.social · Nov 10
Introduce yourself with some jobs you have done apart from what you do now:

- Fast food burger flipper on 3 different occasions.
- Electronic recycling (beating computers with hammers until recyclable bits fall off)
- TCBY (frozen yogurt shop)
- A lot of IT jobs

Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

pathogenomenick.bsky.social
After editing, this very short letter to New Scientist is even shorter now. But I think it gets the point across! @faecalmatters.bsky.social
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Reposted by: Alan W. Walker

digglelab.bsky.social
Check out the Microbial Primers list from the Microbiology Society. Whether you're an early career researcher or an established scientist, ‘Microbial Primers’ is your first-step navigational tool in the expansive landscape of microbiology. #MicroSky www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/micr...
Microbial Primers | Microbiology Society
In the constantly evolving world of microbiology, new research and discoveries can often be overwhelming. ‘Microbial Primers’ is a series of short articles designed to simplify and illuminate intricat...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
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