Fight the Future: The (Re-)Launch of this blog

We started this Blog under the name "xBASE blog" a couple of years ago, with the idea that it allow us to publicise developments with our xBASE genomics facility. However, it is now clear that we need to write on a much broader canvas and tackle all manner of exciting developments that are taking place in bacterial pathogenomics and even in clinical and environmental microbiology, as high-throughput sequencing collides with these disciplines.

Over the past year, one of us (Mark Pallen) has already run a successful blog (The Rough Guide to Evolution) on a side interest of his. We feel the time is now right to apply the experience gained with that blog and with own efforts in high-throughput sequencing to bring blogging right into the heart of our research efforts, so that we can share our enthusiasm, experience, insights and analysis of the literature in bacterial pathogenomics with the world at large and help us all fight the future!

Initially, blog postings will be limited to members of the Pallen group, but in the fullness of time, we hope to welcome postings from fellow enthusiasts, as the need arises.

Oh, and there is another reason for this re-launch today: we have just taken receipt of a high-throughput sequencer (see subsequent post by Nick Loman)

Mark Pallen