Journal Watch

The Journal Watch section highlights published journal articles which discuss recent developments and new technology used in microbiology and related fields. In this issue, highlighted articles include an examination of the ED pathway’s role in microbial sugar metabolism and in the upregulation of virulence genes, landmark companion papers from the Human Microbiome Project Consortium regarding population-scale metagenomic studies, and a new method for in vitro culturing of the malarial parasite for application in drug and vaccine development.