Microbes and us: microbiology literacy in Greece.

IF 2.2 4区生物学 Q3 MICROBIOLOGY

Fems Microbiology Letters Pub Date : 2024-01-09 DOI:10.1093/femsle/fnae008

Hera Karayanni, Eleni Motsiou, Vasiliki Sapountzi, Lydia Meggou, Maria Pagkoutsou, Aikaterini Triantafyllidi, Alexandra-Kyparisia Markouti, Sevasti Zervou, Stelios Anastasopoulos, Georgios Efthimiou

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Microbes are ubiquitous and provide numerous services to humans and our planet. However, a query arises as to whether these microbial services are valued by the general public especially after unprecedented conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context a survey was conducted to investigate the concept of microbe in Greece. Thematic analysis of 672 anonymous responses (age range 4-75yo) received for the open-ended prompt "What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word microbe?" revealed five thematic categories: Negative emotions, Fuzzy associations, Biology, Entities and Health. Almost 80% of responses fell under "Biology" and "Health" and the general pattern of answers was the same across all age groups. Microbes took a variety of forms in the minds of respondents, however, the concept of "microbe" seems to be more unshaped at younger ages (4-11yo), as revealed in children's language choices. Overall, the often-negative perception of microorganisms seems to be confirmed in this study. Although this research was limited to participants from Greece, it remains relevant to other countries around the world as well. We discuss the reasons behind this negative perception and offer suggestions for reversing it.

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微生物与我们：希腊的微生物扫盲。

微生物无处不在，为人类和我们的星球提供了大量服务。然而，人们不禁要问，公众是否重视这些微生物服务，尤其是在 COVID-19 大流行等前所未有的情况下。为此，我们开展了一项调查，以了解希腊人对微生物的概念。对收到的 672 份匿名回复（年龄在 4-75 岁之间）进行了主题分析，对开放式提示 "当您听到微生物一词时，首先想到的是什么？负面情绪、模糊联想、生物、实体和健康。近 80% 的回答属于 "生物 "和 "健康"，所有年龄组的回答模式大致相同。微生物在受访者心目中的形式多种多样，然而，从儿童的语言选择来看，"微生物 "的概念在年龄较小（4-11 岁）的受访者心目中似乎更为模糊。总体而言，本研究似乎证实了人们对微生物的看法往往是负面的。虽然这项研究仅限于希腊的参与者，但对世界其他国家也有借鉴意义。我们讨论了这种负面观念背后的原因，并提出了扭转这种观念的建议。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Fems Microbiology Letters 生物-微生物学

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

112

审稿时长

1.9 months

期刊介绍： FEMS Microbiology Letters gives priority to concise papers that merit rapid publication by virtue of their originality, general interest and contribution to new developments in microbiology. All aspects of microbiology, including virology, are covered. 2019 Impact Factor: 1.987, Journal Citation Reports (Source Clarivate, 2020) Ranking: 98/135 (Microbiology) The journal is divided into eight Sections: Physiology and Biochemistry (including genetics, molecular biology and ‘omic’ studies) Food Microbiology (from food production and biotechnology to spoilage and food borne pathogens) Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology Pathogens and Pathogenicity (including medical, veterinary, plant and insect pathogens – particularly those relating to food security – with the exception of viruses) Environmental Microbiology (including ecophysiology, ecogenomics and meta-omic studies) Virology (viruses infecting any organism, including Bacteria and Archaea) Taxonomy and Systematics (for publication of novel taxa, taxonomic reclassifications and reviews of a taxonomic nature) Professional Development (including education, training, CPD, research assessment frameworks, research and publication metrics, best-practice, careers and history of microbiology) If you are unsure which Section is most appropriate for your manuscript, for example in the case of transdisciplinary studies, we recommend that you contact the Editor-In-Chief by email prior to submission. Our scope includes any type of microorganism - all members of the Bacteria and the Archaea and microbial members of the Eukarya (yeasts, filamentous fungi, microbial algae, protozoa, oomycetes, myxomycetes, etc.) as well as all viruses.