biology

Microbiology Society

Microbiology Society is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microbiology Society rather than just read about it. In short: The Microbiology Society (previously the Society for General Microbiology) is a society based in the United Kingdom with a worldwide membership based in universities, industry, hospitals, research institutes, schools and other organisations. Interests of its members include basic and applied aspects of viruses, prions, bacteria, rickettsiae, mycoplasma, fungi, algae and protozoa, and all other aspects of microbiolog…

Key takeaways

Microbiology Society belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microbiology Society to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microbiology Society from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Microbiology Society (previously the Society for General Microbiology) is a society based in the United Kingdom with a worldwide membership based in universities, industry, hospitals, research institutes, schools and other organisations. Interests of its members include basic and applied aspects of viruses, prions, bacteria, rickettsiae, mycoplasma, fungi, algae and protozoa, and all other aspects of microbiology. Its headquarters is at 14–16 Meredith Street, London. The Society's current president is Professor Gordon Dougan CBE FRS.

History The society was founded on 16 February 1945 as the Society for General Microbiology. Its first president was Alexander Fleming. The Society's first academic meeting was in July 1945 and its first journal, the Journal of General Microbiology (later renamed Microbiology), was published in 1947. A symposium series followed in 1949, and a sister journal, the Journal of General Virology, in 1967. The society purchased its own headquarters in Reading in 1971, after initially sharing accommodation with the Biochemical Society in London. In 2014 the Society moved to Charles Darwin House, London, sharing the premises with several other learned societies. In 2015, the Society changed its name to the Microbiology Society, after its members voted in favour of the change. In 2019 the Society moved to its new headquarters at 14–16 Meredith Street, London.

Activities The Microbiology Society is a membership charity and a not-for-profit publisher. Its biggest event is its Annual Conference and it organises a number of scientific meetings across the discipline of microbiology as well as other membership activities including grants and professional development. The Society runs projects with its expert members to advance the understanding of microbiology in resolving global challenges. Its current major project in this area is Knocking Out Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), an extensive scheme of work aiming to promote feasible and effective solutions to AMR. The Society publishes seven titles:

Access Microbiology International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary MicrobiologyI Journal of General Virology Journal of Medical Microbiology Microbial Genomics Microbiology Microbiology Outlooks

Society Prizes The Microbiology Society awards a range of prizes in recognition of significant contributions to microbiology. The Prize Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding microbiologist who is a global leader in their field and whose work has had a far-reaching impact beyond the field of microbiology. The recipient receives £1,000 and usually gives a lecture to a meeting of the Society. The first medal was awarded to Stanley Prusiner and winners have included world-leading microbiologists from across the discipline. The Marjory Stephenson Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution of current importance in microbiology. The winner receives £1000 and gives a lecture on his/her work at a Society meeting. The lecture is usually published in a society journal. Marjory Stephenson was the second president of the Society (1947–1949) and a distinguished pioneer of chemical microbiology. The Fleming Prize Lecture is awarded annually to recognise outstanding research in any branch of microbiology by a microbiologist in the early stages of his/her career. Sir Alexander Fleming was the first President of the Society (1945–1947) and received a Nobel Prize for his discovery of penicillin. The Outreach and Engagement Prize is awarded annually to an individual for an outstanding contribution to microbiology outreach and/or engagement in order to stimulate interest and understanding in the subject. The Translational Microbiology Prize Lecture is awarded annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding contribution to translational microbiology. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Prize Lecture is awarded annually for good practice in and/or an outstanding contribution to initiatives that promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the microbiological community, and/or widen participation by those from historically marginalised communities, by raising awareness of microbiology and inspiring the next generation of microbiologists to pursue microbiology careers. The Society awards the Early Career Microbiologist of the Year prizes annually to members presenting work at the Society's Annual Conference or Irish Division meeting. The prize recognises and rewards excellence in science communication by a member in the early stages of their career.

Presidents Source: Microbiology Society

References

External links Official website Microbiology Society - education website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microbiology Society

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microbiology Society claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microbiology Society before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microbiology Society ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microbiology Society

In research: Microbiology Society appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microbiology Society in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microbiology Society is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1945 establishments in the United Kingdom, British biology societies, Learned societies of the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microbiology Society outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microbiology Society in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microbiology Society means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microbiology Society out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microbiology Society in simple terms?

Why does Microbiology Society matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microbiology Society?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microbiology Society.