Our lives revolve around food. We think about it all of the time (at least I do!). We have to eat to survive and we even plan our lives around it. During festive celebrations such as birthdays or Christmas for instance, we stuff our faces with calorie-laden treats. As we evolved, our ancestors adapted to Continue reading

I’ve come to anticipate the response I’ll get when I tell people the topic of my dissertation. It is, incidentally, the same response you might get while trying to explain polyamory to a maiden aunt: “That’s…. very modern”. I know, as historians, stereotype dictates that we’re meant to spend our time enthusing over Gladstone and Continue reading

Every surface, nook and cranny of the human body is inhabited by bacteria, with over 1000 different species calling our bodies home [1]. Don’t panic! Most are totally harmless bacteria, known as commensals. Some are even beneficial to our health. Only a tiny proportion of bacterial species are pathogens, responsible for causing infectious diseases ranging from mild acne to life-threatening blood poisoning.  Some bacteria fit Continue reading