Welcome to My Blog
About Dr. Booth…
If you’ve made it this far, welcome!
Take a look around and hopefully you will find something worth reading.
Who Am I?
My name is Thom and I am a scientist and writer currently living in Western Australia.
I spend most of my time working in the lab where I study bacteria. More specifically, I research how soil microbes produce drug-like molecules that can be used as antibiotics and other medicines. Evolution is a central theme of my research and have recently published a few papers on how biosynthetic pathways have evolved in bacteria (1, 2).
Very occasionally, I find some extra time to write, here on Medium, about things that interest me. You can find links to examples below but check out my page for more. I don’t use Medium’s paywall, so all my writing is available for free.
What Do I Write About?
Science
I love science. I love writing. Obviously, I write about science.
I used to write weekly science updates, but it was difficult to find the time every week. Now I focus on individual stories as I can take the time to cover them in greater detail.
For example, I recently wrote about a study looking into the environmental impacts of streaming technology. I even had the pleasure of interviewing the study’s lead author!
Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation
I am fascinated by conspiracy theories. When I began researching conspiracy theories, it was mostly for fun. However, in the 20s, the age of the tinfoil hat is over. Misinformation pervades out society deeper than ever before as bad actors take advantage of a society still maladjusted to the age of social media.
I recently wrote about a case in Western Australia, where government documents are being used by anti-vaccine campaigners as propaganda.
Space Travel
I was never really interested in space as a kid. As a career scientist however, I have become an admirer of space travel as a human project. Space travel dramatically captures the essence of human progress. There is perhaps no better ambassador for science than the astronaut.
In fact, the first article I wrote on this platform was about the difference between astronauts and cosmonauts.
Anything Else that Catches my Interest
When it comes down to it, if something interests me, I will write about it. Politics, video games or even the World Cup of Flags…
How to Get in Touch
If you want to get in touch to pitch and idea, suggest a collaborative project or just to chat, don’t hesitate to reach out!
You can send me a message on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoothThom
