In the first Communicable episode of 2026, Annie Joseph and Josh Nosanchuk invite Robin Patel (Rochester, USA) and Fidelma Fitzpatrick (Dublin, Ireland) to discuss some of their favourite clinical microbiology papers published in 2025. These six papers highlight everything from technological advances of genomics and molecular diagnostic testing to the importance of patient and public involvement in research as well as effective communication [1-6]. The panel also discusses whether or not any of these papers have changed their practice.

This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler and peer reviewed by Sinéad Kilgarriff of the National Virus Reference Laboratory University College, Dublin in Ireland.

Robin’s papers

• Oyeniran SJ, et al. J Clin Microbiol 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.00986-25
• Xie O, et al. Lancet Microbe 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101182
• Lopopolo M et al., Science 2025. DOI: 10.1126/science.adu7144

Fidelma’s papers

• Turner NA, et al. JAMA 2025. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.12543
• Paterson DL, et al. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2025. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00469-4
• Langford BJ, et al. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology 2025. DOI: 10.1017/ash.2025.10210

Related podcast episodes

• Communicable episode 1: Late breaker trials at ESCMID Global 2024, https://share.transistor.fm/s/9c598f68

References

1. Oyeniran SJ, et al. J Clin Microbiol 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.00986-25
2. Xie O, et al. Lancet Microbe 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101182
3. Turner NA, et al. JAMA 2025. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.12543
4. Paterson DL, et al. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2025. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00469-4
5. Lopopolo M et al., Science 2025. DOI: 10.1126/science.adu7144
6. Langford BJ, et al. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology 2025. DOI: 10.1017/ash.2025.10210

Further reading

• Mohammed HT, et al. IJSEM 2025. DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.006986
• Skally M, et al. BMJ Open 2025. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103431
• Ong SWX and Tverring J. CMI Communications 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2025.105154
• Tverring J and Ong SWX. CMI Communications 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2025.105169

In this final episode of 2025, hosts Annie Joseph (Nottingham, UK) and Angela Huttner (Geneva, Switzerland), interview Communicable's producer, Katie Hostettler-Oi (Zurich, Switzerland), to learn which episodes she liked best this year. Their discussion provides a behind-the-scenes look at some of the episodes--including the strange surprises that sometimes came with them. Finally, the CMI Comms editors and editorial fellows send in their perspectives on 2025 and their wishes for 2026.

During the COVID-19 pandemic with lockdown mandates and social distancing, doctors, researchers, and the public were able to find refuge and community online; for the infectious disease community, it was on the social media platform Twitter, and more specifically under the widely used hashtag, #IDTwitter. Under new ownership from 2022, however, Twitter’s name and brand changed to what we now know as X, and “the heyday of #IDTwitter is long since gone”. In this special episode of Communicable, Angela Huttner and Marc Bonten invite doctors and science communicators, Neil Stone (London, UK), Ilan Schwartz (Durham, USA), and Tara Smith (Kent, USA) to debate whether we should stay on X or leave it for alternatives.

This episode is a follow-up from Stone and Schwartz’s commentary [1] and Smith’s response letter [2] addressing the same topic published in CMI Communications. The views expressed by the panelists are their own and do not represent the positions of their affiliated institutions or ESCMID. This episode was not peer reviewed.

Resources

You can follow all participants of this episode on Bluesky: @drneilstone.bsky.social, @germhuntermd.bsky.social, @aetiology.bsky.social, @marcbonten.bsky.social, @angelahuttner.bsky.social, and Stone on X: @DrNeilStone.

References

1. Stone NRH and Schwartz IS. Joining the X-odus: Contrasting perspectives on whether infection specialists should leave X (formerly Twitter). CMI Comms 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2025.105140
2. Smith TC. Twitter remains a haven of harassment. CMI Comms 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2025.105144

Further reading

• Biever, C. Bluesky’s science takeover: 70% of Nature poll respondents use platform. Nature News 2025.
• PEW Research Center. How Do Americans View Childhood Vaccines, Vaccine Research and Policy? https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/11/18/how-do-americans-view-childhood-vaccines-vaccine-research-and-policy/
• NBC News. X’s new location labels unmask users. Insiders say the idea was rejected for years. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-musk/x-user-location-feature-country-elon-musk-new-rcna245620