A study on apple bacteria published in Frontiers in Microbiology has been recognized in Altmetric's 2019 Top 100 list.

The annual list highlights the most discussed and shared research from the past year, covering a broad range of globally significant topics such as climate change, public health, and artificial intelligence.

The apple study, featuring at number 80 in the list, claims organic varieties of apples harbor a more diverse and balanced bacterial community than conventional ones. This could make them healthier and tastier, as well as better for the environment, say the authors from Austria's Graz University of Technology.

Apples are among the world’s favorite fruits (with 83 million tonnes grown last year alone) which may explain the article's popularity. The findings were described in nearly 200 news outlets -- including Time Magazine, CNN, Die Welt and the Today Show -- and shared over 3,000 times on Twitter. The original research article has also been viewed and downloaded more than 58,000 times by researchers around the world.

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About Altmetric

Altmetric collates what people are saying about published research in online sources such as the news, policy documents, social media, and other scholarly and non-scholarly forums to provide a comprehensive picture of the influence and reach of scholarly work.

The Altmetric Top 100 is a list that highlights research from the past year that has received significant international online attention and discussion.

See full Top 100 list